Cheesy Chicken Chowder

Any time I fix a recipe and my husband comments "Gee, that was pretty good" I feel like I've just won a James Beard award and immediately think I have to immortalize the recipe so that I can make it again some day. And what I find most ironic about all this is it's not the recipes that I've slaved over for hours. It's the simple ones that I've put together in about 15 minutes. Such is the case with tonight's winner taken from one of my Taste of Home cookbooks called "The Big Book of Soup." It's Cheesy Chicken Chowder and it's a hearty combination of potatoes, chicken and cheese that's great on a cold winter's night. And the Amish white bread I baked this afternoon went perfectly with it. I'll have that recipe for you in a separate post.
 Ingredients
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
 2 cups diced cooked chicken
1. In a large stockpot bring the chicken broth to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes).
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and then add the flour and mix well. Gradually stir in the milk and cook over medium heat until slightly thickened. Stir in the cheese and cook until melted.
3. Add the cheese mixture and the cooked chicken to the broth and vegetables. Cook and stir over a low heat until heated through. Makes 6-8 servings.