This hearty and filling soup brings warmth on the coldest of days. Serve it alongside your favorite salad, your choice of sandwich or just plain toast.
8cupschicken brothhomemade or store bought (reserve ½ cup for the slurry)* (see notes)
1 354mlcan evaporated milk
¼cupbutter
¼cupcornstarch
Salt and pepperto taste
Instructions
Melt butter in a large pot using medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and the ham cubes. Cook for 3 minutes before adding in the potatoes, carrots and celery. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Saute for a minute then pour in 7 ½ cupsof chicken broth. Bring mixture to a boil.
Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the milk. Combine cornstarch and the reserved (room temperature) ½ cup broth. Slowly pour into the pot, while stirring.
Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Add the chopped bell pepper and simmer for 2 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with toast or crackers.
Notes
*If you have some leftover ham bones, use it instead of just plain chicken broth. Add the ham bone to a pot with 8 cups of water and add 2 tablespoons of Better than Bouillon chicken base. Or use 4 cups of water and 4 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 10 minutes, while you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients. The longer you simmer the broth, the more flavor gets extracted from the ham bones.**Use more (or less) of the ingredients that you prefer. I always add more carrots and potatoes because my kids love it.