What to do with your leftover ham

Ok, so I'll admit, Ben and I are doing things a little bit backwards this year. We ate ham for Thanksgiving and we are finally going to cook our turkey for Christmas Eve dinner. In trying to use up the leftover ham, I stumbled upon a delicious recipe for ham soup. Seriously, it gets five stars from me, I forgot how good the soup was in between each bite. Here it is:

Ham and Potato Soup

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, carrots, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. 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.

Tips:

• I recommend using the white pepper instead of the regular ground black pepper because it works so well with the other flavors in this soup. And although I typically use "Better Than Bouillon," I think the crushed bouillon granules work really well.
  
• Feel free to add other vegetables to the soup. I like adding carrots because they make the soup heartier and add color. You can even omit the meat, making this a creamy vegetable soup.
• Garnish with fresh herbs or grated cheese