Cheesy Broccoli, Cheese, Potato, Ham and Carrot Soup (Whew. that's a mouthful!)

My daughter, Kim, made this a few nights ago and passed the recipe on to me, telling me they loved it for their dinner that night.  I decided to make it tonight since I had all the ingredients in my fridge/pantry to do so.  It came together pretty quickly and it was really a nice meal.  The original recipe didn't call for ham like we used, instead it called for crumbled bacon and cheese on top, which would be delicious too. 

Here's how to put it together. 

In a large kettle/stock pot add:

(2) 14 oz can's of chicken stock or however you do your chicken broth..
4 medium potatoes diced in cubes (leftover baked potatoes diced would be really good too, but I'd add them later on so they don't smush up.
2 cleaned and diced/sliced carrots
1 tsp onion powder

bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.

Then add 1 medium bunch of broccoli-just the florets- in smaller bite sized chunks and about 1 cup of diced lean ham and cook another 10 minutes.

While this is simmering:
in another good sized kettle:
Melt 3 Tbsps butter and add 1/3 cup flour.  stir until well mixed.  Add 3-1/2 cups milk.  Cook about 5 minutes until thickened.  Add 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese and stir until totally melted.  Add 1/2 tsp pepper and a little granulated garlic. 

Pour this cheese sauce into the big kettle with the vegetables and ham and stir.  Add more milk if too thick for your taste and salt and pepper to your taste.  (The recipe calls for 1 tsp)