Corn Chowder

Another soup! And this one actually stayed a soup and actually made a reasonable amount to be eaten in a reasonable amount of time. So that's two wins for this.

This soup is surprisingly spicy, but I'm not sure if it's that surprising considering it's coming from Pioneer Woman. That's right, another recipe for my cookbook challenge.

Start by cooking your bacon in the bottom of your soup pot. Once some fat has been rendered off, throw in your chopped onion and sauté for a few minutes. Toss in your corn, then chopped chipotle peppers. I used three small peppers but if the ones you are using are large then you only need one or two. Depends on how spicy you like it.

Once all the vegetables have been added, pour in your chicken broth. As you may have expected, I used water and a bouillon cube instead of boxed broth. Also pour in your cream. And your can of green chilies, juice and all. Boil this for 30 minutes, then add in your cornmeal-mixed-with-water and boil for another 10. Then that's it! Make sure to let it cool a little before chowing down or else...

All in all, I like this! I am wondering if you could sub the cream for coconut milk for a little added flavor and a little healthy twist but I'm not sure if it would add too much coconut flavor. That's an ingredient I'm looking into working with a little more. So maybe keep your eyes peeled for some coconut milk recipes on the horizon. TBD. 

The recipe said it made 10-12 servings but I was able to finish this in 4 days so I would say I probably got more like 6-8, maybe 9 servings. But honestly that's an appropriate amount for 1-2 people who don't want to be eating corn soup until their tears are corn soup. So I'm happy with that.

Recipe (from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier)

3 3/4 cups of corn

2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces or smaller

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2-3 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely diced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

One 4-oz can diced green chilies

3 tbsp cornmeal

Salt to taste

1. Cook bacon pieces in a large pot over medium heat until fat begins to render, about 2 minutes.

2. Add diced onion and cook until it is translucent and bacon is cooked but still chewy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add corn kernels and stir to combine.

4. Finely chop adobo peppers and stir into corn mixture. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes.

5. Pour in chicken broth and heavy cream, stir to combine.

6. Add in green chilies.

7. Let soup simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

8. Mix cornmeal with 1/4 cup water and stir together. Pour into soup and stir to combine. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until thickened. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy!