Corn Chowder with Chilies...a blog post about food?

Sometimes I think I should start a recipe blog.

The challenge with that is that every recipe I'd use would be one I stole from someone else. I'm not very creative but I CAN follow directions-and have pretty good results. I'm always looking for new recipes to try (I tend to have more dessert recipes than main dishes but that's MY problem...) and a couple of the sites I check out have one great one after another. I started a recipe file in my computer about two years ago, and about 6 months ago I printed off all the ones I thought I'd really use (or HAD used) and put them in an 8x11 binder. I use it every week for at least two dinners.

For example...

Saturday I found a recipe for Corn Chowder with Chilies. At first glance I'm thinking nah, chilies. I don't know about that. But I read the recipe and decided to give it a go. It calls for lots of onion (which I reduced by 2/3's and chopped so fine I wouldn't have to know it was there), corn, bacon, cream and two kinds of chilies. So I got the ingredients and yesterday I made it, following the recipe word for word. Well, all except the onion.

It was the best corn soup I've ever eaten-bar none. I love nearly any kind of corn soup and have made chowder before. But this...let me tell you that this recipe will be repeated often in my house, and the next time my kids come for a weekend, we'll be having this for dinner. It would be so easy to double or triple the recipe, and oh, did I mention that it takes less than a half hour to put together and only needs a half hour to simmer? Yum.

For those of you who love soup and chowder on cold winter days, here's the recipe.


Corn Chowder with Chilies

2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
2 T. Butter
1 1/2 finely chopped onions (I used a half)
5 ears of corn, shucked and cut off the cob (5 cups if you're using frozen)
2 whole chilpotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped (I found this in the mexican aisle of my grocery store. They're canned.)
1 4oz can of diced green chilies (found them in the vegetable aisle of my store)
4 C low sodium chicken broth
1.5 C heavy whipping cream
1/2 t. kosher salt, more or less to taste
3 T. corn meal
1/4 C water

In a large pot brown the bacon till nearly crispy, add the onion and butter. Cook on medium high until the butter is melted and onion starts to get soft (2-3 minutes). Add the corn and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the peppers. Add chicken broth and stir well, then add the cream and cook until it boils and then immediatly turn to simmer. Add salt. Stir the corn meal and water together and add to the chowder. This will help thicken it a bit. Simmer 30 minutes.

I promise you that in less than an hour you'll have a great dinner.

Here's what I'll do next time:

Add two diced potatoes when I add the broth.
Leave out the butter. I really don't think it needs it.
Change the heavy whipping cream for skim milk. I honestly don't think it'll matter.

For you WW people out there, this will make it really point friendly and is an excellent main dish. Add bread and salad and you have a terrific homecooked meal in no time at all!!

Next time maybe I'll try a dessert!!