Potato Corn Chowder

Potato Corn Chowder is such an amazing comforting bowl of deliciousness.  I am not always a fan of it’s richer cousin, Loaded Baked Potato Soup.  While delicious, it is often too rich for me.  I love the deep, mellow flavor of all of the vegetables in the Chowder.  Even though our “winter” has been mostly 70 degree days in Southern California, I still crave soup some evenings and this past week I really needed a bowl of chowder, so I went to work.  I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.  I hope you agree.

I like to bake my potatoes early in the day so that they are cooled and easy to dice up.  I baked mine at 375 degrees in my convection oven for about 40 minutes.  I like them tender but not too soft.  I let them cool then peeled them and diced them up and set them aside.

I just happened to have left over bacon from the morning so I crumbled that up and stored it in the fridge.  For the record, I make my bacon in the oven now and it is such a convenient way to do it.  I cover my rimmed baking pan with foil, lay the bacon out in a single layer and place it in the oven at 400 degrees or 375 degrees in a convection oven.  It usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven and how crispy you like your bacon.  It cooks evenly, doesn’t splatter all over the stove and it is just easier.

I cut up one carrot and one celery stalk so that they are small pieces but not grated.  I also diced up my onion and set all the veggies aside.

In a large pan on top of the stove, I melt one half cup butter over medium heat.  I toss in the carrots, celery and onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the veggies are tender.  When I say medium heat I mean whatever it takes to keep it at a gently bubbling.

Next, I toss in one half cup flour and stir and continue cooking for about 3 minutes.  Now slowly add two cans of chicken broth, stirring all of the time.  Add the half and half.  Stir and adjust the heat so that it is just below boiling.  It can just be barely bubbling around the edge.  Stir occasionally and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.  It will thicken slightly.   Add the diced potatoes, 2 cans of corn, drained, and the seasoning.  Continue cooking and stirring occasionally for 20 to 25 more minutes.  Add the cheese and bacon and serve hot.

Refrigerate the left overs in an airtight container.  This is great heated up and served the next day.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.