Comfort Food

T'is the season of soups, stews and things simmered in the crock pot. It was my turn to cook for our care group this week and I made a Cheese and Corn Chowder I've not made in many years... and it was delicious.

adapted from the More with Less Cookbook
serves 4-6

2 1/2 cups frozen corn
boiling water
1 teaspoon of sugar
6 slices of bacon, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups of carrots, diced
1 cup of celery, diced
2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes OR diced raw potatoes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 Tablespoon of dried)
2 cups milk **
1 cup grated sharp cheddar or pepper jack cheese **

Place the frozen corn in a blender and pour in enough hot water so that the water level comes almost up to the corn. Pulse so that the corn breaks up but is not entirely pureed. Add sugar and set aside.

In a soup pot or dutch oven, brown bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside, leaving rendered bacon fat in the pot. Add onions and cook over medium high heat (in bacon fat) until translucent. Add garlic and peppers and stir for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, carrots, celery, potatoes, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add corn mixture and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in parsley, then add milk and cheese and cook at a lower heat for 5 minutes, making sure the milk does not boil. Add bacon and serve.

** To make this soup dairy free, I simply replace the milk and cheese with soy milk and soy cheese.