Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

Sorry I'm posting a day late. Yesterday was our anniversary, so that's my excuse!:)
This soup is delicious and the fun thing is you don't have to follow it exactly. Add whatever you have on hand. I love that it doesn't have cream of chicken or mushroom soup in it, so it really is pretty healthy. If we ever have to use our food storage I think soups will be the main thing we eat so it's not a bad idea to learn the basics of soup making. I'm definitely not an expert but I've started experimenting. Chicken bouillon is an easy way to flavor any soup, and this flour/butter/milk combo works great to thicken any soup.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c. peeled and diced potatoes (4 med.)
1/3 c. diced celery
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
3/4 c. diced cooked ham
3 1/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. white or black pepper, or to taste
2 Tbsp. butter
4-5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. peas


Directions:
1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add in the peas (if you want -- original recipe didn't call for them. I use frozen and I just put them in frozen) at some point -- I usually throw them in after the rest has been boiling for a few minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk to avoid lumps. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe. I just googled potato ham soup one day and looked around and found one and then tweaked it from there. Sorry I can't give proper credit. The original recipe calls for more butter, bouillon, and pepper (at least double of what I put in) but for me the amounts I listed above are plenty. I usually double it so we can have lots of left overs for Caleb to take for lunch. This soup is one of his favorites!