Weekend Recipes - Cheddar Chowder

Before I start on this recipe, I have to shout a big 'THANK YOU' to Barb Sears for this recipe.  Kari introduced me to this in college and I begged and pleaded with her to pass it along to me when I got to Atlanta.

One of the biggest challenges of my resolution to cook more and eat out less is the lunch situation.  Both Bruce and I have a tendency to hit the snooze several times before we finally roll out of bed and as we are scrambling to get dressed, make coffee and grab our stuff for the day, the thought, "What am I going to take for lunch?" rarely enters either one of our minds.

This is why cooking in bulk (soups, crockpot meals, casseroles, etc.) are going to be imperative for us this year.

I decided to make this soup on New Year's Eve this year, because we had a TON of ham leftover from Christmas and we had already had tons of leftover plates and omelets, haha.  It was time for something else.

Today's recipe is PERFECT for freezing individual portioned containers and grabbing them later on whenever you are running late.  If you freeze them you really don't even need to worry about keeping them refrigerated throughout the day, either.  Enjoy!!  (Thanks, Barb!!)

Cheddar Chowder

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

2 cups potatoes, chopped

2 cups water

2 cups ham, diced

(Cheese Sauce)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Dice, chop and cube onion, carrots, celery and potatoes (note - WATCH YOUR FINGERS when you are cubing the potatoes).

Add onion, carrots, celery, potatoes and water to a large soup pot.  Bring to a boil and cook for approximately 10 minutes, until veggies are tender.

Meanwhile ...

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the flour and whisk until combined (it will form a paste).  Slowly stir in the milk until combined, then add the shredded cheddar cheese - stir until melted (over medium heat)

(Just a note - for some reason, we were completely out of white flour, so we used whole wheat.  I couldn't taste the difference, but it made the cheese sauce a touch darker.  I would definitely do it again, though.)

When the cheese is melted, pour cheese sauce into pot with the cooked vegetables (and the boiling water).  Stir until combined.

Enjoy!!