Ham and Potato Soup

This is what we had for supper tonight. I was going to make BBQ Chicken and Cornbread Casserole, but I forgot that it needs to go into the crock pot. By the time I remembered, it was too late. So we'll have that tomorrow. Anyway, this is one of our very favorite recipes, which we always have with homemade bread.

3-4 medium red potatoes
1 cup water
1 small onion
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Crushed red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup cubed cooked ham (I just buy a pre-cooked ham steak, then I can just chop it up and throw it in)

1. Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes.

2. Bring water to boil in a large saucepan. Add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid, adding water, if necessary; set aside.

3. Peel and finely chop onion. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion to saucepan; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and tender, but not brown.

4. Add flour to saucepan; season with pepper flakes (I use about half a teaspoonful- any more and it's too spicy for our tastes), and black pepper to taste. Cook 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Gradually add potatoes, reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, milk and sugar to onion mixture in saucepan; stir well. Add cheese and ham. Simmer over low heat 30 minutes, stirring frequently so the cheese doesn't stick to the bottom.