MONDAY MORNING RECIPE ON TUESDAY INSTEAD - EASY POTATO AND CORN CHOWDER - SERVES 4

The weather has turned decidedly chilly. I didn’t think I would be making any soups again until the Fall, but here we are. I found a recipe for an easy potato and corn chowder at Cook2eatwell hosted by Elizabeth Rodriguez. Thank you Elizabeth, it is a delicious soup. You can find her original at this link. She has great tips to make this, along with more delicious recipes.

This soup was a ten out of ten. I made it while Gregg was out of the house for the day, and when he came back and smelled the aroma, he couldn't wait to have a bowl. 

Easy Potato and Corn Chowder

Serves 4

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow or white onion, small dice

1 stick of celery, diced

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra at the end if needed

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken broth

2 (16 ounce) cans cream-style corn

10 ounces frozen corn, defrosted (cooked to approximately half suggested cooking time on the package)

1-1/2 pounds potatoes (russet potatoes preferred but Yukon gold, yellow potatoes, or red potatoes will also work)

1/2 cup half-and-half or whole milk

4-5 bacon slices, cooked crispy for garnish (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped chives or green onions for garnish (optional)

Preperation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Preparation times above are just a guideline. It always takes me longer as I do everything in stages. Start early and make sure I am awake enough to prepare veggies, which I usually do sitting at the kitchen table. I take breaks to drink a cup or two of coffee. I try not to have any more after the noon hour, and have a cup of green tea in the afternoon, and in the evening have a cup of an herbal caffeine-free chamomile, honey and vanilla tea, which is my favorite at the moment.  

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. 

Once the butter is melted and foamy, add the onions and celery. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.

Add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring often.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook and stir to mix together for at least two minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Stir almost constantly.

Gradually add the broth while stirring briskly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Continue adding and stirring until the flour is fully dissolved.

Stir in the creamed corn.

Raise the heat to bring the soup to a simmer, which will take about 5 minutes.

Once simmering, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir occasionally, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.

While the soup simmers, cook the frozen corn enough to defrost—usually about half the recommended time on the package. Drain well.

Add the potatoes and defrosted corn to the pot. If the soup doesn’t begin simmering immediately, raise the heat slightly. Then, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the half-and-half (or milk), cover, and cook gently for 2–3 minutes, until heated through.

Taste the soup and add salt if needed. As a reference, ½ teaspoon was added to ours.

 Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish with crispy bacon and chopped chives or green onions for garnish.

If you have to watch such things, our blog host suggested using reduced-sodium ingredients like unsalted butter, low-sodium broth, and low-sodium bacon for garnish. We always use low sodium chicken broth.

I wondered if this soup might have been a bit bland but we both agreed it was very tasty. We served it with a crusty roll but feel that it is hardy enough on its own. 

I had whole milk in the fridge especially bought for this recipe. It was one of the ingredients, that or half-and-half. I thought of using my regular 2 percent and might try it next time but my dear other half says I wouldn't mess with it, that's how much he enjoyed it as is. When I went to the fridge this morning I saw the milk I had put in a measuring jug that I was going to add along with the rest of the ingredients. Just saying, because if you ever find yourself without it, we didn't miss it one iota.

We added the bacon and green onions. Gregg ate his on the side while I added mine on top. I ate another bowl without cooking any bacon, just adding the green onions. I think it would be fine without those too.

Other half also suggested a tablespoon of sour cream on top for garnish sometime.

The first bowl I added a few dashes of Siracha hot sauce, the second time left it off. Great either way.

I also made a double batch of soup, so there will be leftovers for the next two or three days.

I left the blog address out in full below, just in case you prefer to cut and paste rather than to use the link I provided above.

https://www.cook2eatwell.com/easy-potato-corn-chowder.

I always try to reread everything to make sure I don't have any typos, but sometimes they get in there. If you have any questions, please feel free to put them in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, 

have a great day and 

Bon Appétit!