Sausage & Corn Chowder

This was today's recipe of the day from Taste of Home, and it takes practically no time to prepare. All this delicious cold weather food I'm making... and it's 75 degrees. I added carrots to up the vegetables, topped it with some shredded cheddar, and ate it with French bread from the bakery at Sprouts!

1/2 lb. ground pork sausage (I used spicy Italian)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
3 cups water
2 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1 cup corn
1 cup sliced carrot
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/8 tsp. black pepper

In a large saucepan or pot, cook the sausage, onion, celery, and carrots until the meat is fully cooked through. Drain if necessary, and then add the 3 cups water, potatoes, bouillon granules, and corn. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce heat, cooking for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, make a bechamel sauce to thicken your soup by melting the butter, then stirring in the flour and pepper with a whisk until it's smooth. Gradually add the milk and whisk it together, until all the milk is in there and the sauce has thickened like gravy and become very smooth.

Add the bechamel sauce to the sausage and vegetable mixture and stir. Top the soup with cheese and serve it with hot bread.