Let’s skip
the awkward, “it’s been a while” talk.
Hi!
The hubby
has been bugging me about making corn chowder for about a month now. Like,
twice a day, every day, type of bugging. Here’s the thing…I don’t like chowder.
I generally don’t make things that I don’t like/eat.
I don’t know
what came over me, but I decided to google “easy corn chowder” and a ton of
recipes appeared. I was pleasantly surprised to find that you could probably
make chowder with items you already have in your pantry and fridge. After looking at about
10 recipes, I decided to create my own, despite not having a clue what I was
doing. I liked the freshness of some recipes that included bell peppers and
fresh corn, while I liked the ease of throwing in a can of cream of mushroom to
create a thicker consistency.
Here went
nothing.
Ingredients
Bacon – 6 slices
Celery – 2 stalks
Corn – 2 fresh,
1 15 oz can, drained
Bell Pepper –
Half of a medium size
Onion – Half
of a medium size
Potatoes – 4
medium size red
Cream of
mushroom soup – 1 can
Chicken broth
– 1 package, approx. 14 oz
Butter – 1 tbsp.
Salt and
Pepper to taste
Water
Leftover
Chicken (Optional)
Corn Starch
(Optional)
I began by
cutting 6 strips of bacon into small pieces. I threw them into my pot over
medium heat, and as they cooked, I chopped up the onion, celery, and bell pepper
into a small/medium dice. Remember to stir your bacon occasionally; you don’t
want it to burn. I wanted the veggies small enough to cook quickly, but big enough so
you could taste and see them in the chowder. Once the bacon was cooked, I
removed them with a slotted spoon and placed the bits on a paper towel to drain
excess oil.
I then added
butter to the bacon fat, followed by the cut onion, celery and bell pepper. You’ll
want to stir this occasionally to allow the veggies to cook and keep the stove on
medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. While this is cooking, cut your
potatoes. I chose a larger dice. I don’t know why. It seemed like the right
thing to do at the time. Once your onions are translucent and the veggies
appear soft, it’s time to add your chicken broth and water. [Note here: I added 4 cups of water, and my
chowder remained a bit on the brothy side. In hindsight, I should have only
added 2-3 cups to get a more thick, recognizable, chowder consistency] Add
your potatoes, add some salt and pepper, and turn the heat to high. I wanted a
low boil, to cook the potatoes half way quickly, since they’d sit in the pot
for a while.
While the
potatoes are cooking, cut your fresh corn. Reality is, you don’t need fresh
corn, canned
Use leftover
bacon to garnish the top of the soup.
Optional
I found the consistency to be too brothy, so I
made a corn starch slurry (equal parts corn starch and cold water in a bowl,
stirred) and added it in and allowed it thicken up with the heat off for 10
minutes.
I had
leftover chicken thighs from the previous night’s dinner, so I chopped up the
meat and added it to the chowder when I added the corn and cream of mushroom
soup.
End Result
I thought
the flavor was good, and my husband loved it. Chowder still isn’t for me
though.
This was
easy enough to make, and fairly inexpensive. I estimate my total price
(including chicken) to be $13, for roughly 8 huge servings. I would definitely
make this again, for a chowder loving crowd.
Try it and
let me know if you like it!
