Perpetual Plan B

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Corn Chowder


Yummmmm.

This is one of the girls' and my favorite soups. It is true comfort food.

I made a big pot today and there is only one little serving left. If I'm feeling generous tomorrow, I'll save it for one of the girls to eat after school.

As far as soups go, this is probably the least healthy soup I make, but we do enjoy it. Hal and Austin won't touch it with a ten foot pole, so I only make it when I have leftovers that they like.

Here is the recipe in my non-exact terms. It has kind of evolved over the years:

Take a large heavy soup pot. Put in about 2 T. olive oil. Throw in a chopped onion and saute' on medium until soft and starting to brown, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, throw about 6 medium-large red potatoes (or about 4 regular potatoes) in the microwave to cook all the way.

Next add 5-8 pieces of chopped bacon into the pot with the onions and cook until bacon is done.

Throw in about 1/2 bag of frozen corn. Stir until corn is warm, about a minute or so.

Now add one can of Cream of Mushroom soup and one can of Cream of Chicken soup into the pot, along with two soup cans full of milk.

Season to taste with quite a bit of pepper and thyme. Today I also threw in some onion powder and a little seasoned salt, though I usually don't put in any salt.

By now the potatoes should be done. Take them and smash them up really fine, skins and all. I usually start by chopping them with a knife to break up the skins. If they won't smash, they aren't cooked well enough. Add then to the pot. The smashed potatoes gives the soup some good texture.

Now take the soup off the heat and add about four big (serving size)spoons full of sour cream. I used to use plain yogurt because it's healthier, but lately have gone back to the sour cream because it tastes so good!

Give it all a big stir and adjust seasonings again by adding more pepper and thyme, probably at least 1/2 t. pepper and 3/4 or more t. thyme total.

It's also REALLY thick, which I like, so you can add more milk if you want.

If anyone else has any other suggestions, just add them into the comments.

Good night!

1 comment:

Bookaholic said...

Hi! I'm a huge David Archuleta fan so enjoyed learning of your fun David game with your daughter. I also love to cook so just had to click 'corn chowder'. You said you have family members who won't touch your corn chowder with a ten foot pole. I have a corn chowder recipe that is entirely different but really good that I think everyone would like. If you're interested trying it and like it, you could have your 'special' corn chowder and mine could be the everyday version. Anyway, here it is:

Corn Chowder

5 potatoes, peeled and sliced
4 slices bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 can creamed corn
3-4 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and slice potatoes. Put in saucepan, cover with water, and boil gently until tender. Drain. Meanwhile, slice bacon and chop onion. Fry bacon until brown and lightly crisped. Remove. Sauté onion in bacon fat until tender. Remove. Combine drained cooked potatoes, bacon and onion, creamed corn, and enough milk to dilute soup appropriately. Salt and pepper to taste. Can add 1/4 c. half and half if richer soup is desired.

Good, simple, hearty soup that almost everyone likes. It's actually my grandma's potato soup recipe with a can of creamed corn to make it corn chowder. Enjoy!

Karen (alias Bookaholic)
PS I'm LDS, too!