Something Old: Corn & Potato Chowder

Last night Chase and I hosted a dinner party for our friends (do people host dinner parties for strangers? Or enemies?). Anyway, it was a great success and great fun. You know the dinner part of the party went well when you get many requests for the night's recipe.

And this recipe was particularly well suited for last night because it's getting cool and autumny, and because it was very easy to turn into a vegetarian dish.

Plus, who doesn't love half a pound of cheddar cheese in a dish?

The last time I remember cooking this was last summer in Norman, when a couple friends joined me for a cool-weather dinner in summer. As you'll see from the original post, a cheap AC system made summers an interesting climate experience.

Happy fall cooking!

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Corn & Potato Chowder August 14, 2009

Soup in the summer? Yep.

It turns out our apartment doesn't regulate temperature very well. If I want the bedroom down to even 80 so I don't melt in the night, the living room ends up 60 degrees. Brrrr! So to accompany the sweaters and socks I've been wearing this summer, I decided to make a nice soup.

This is a recipe I've made before, and have had so long I don't quite remember where it came from. But it's delicious nonetheless.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups peeled and chopped potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes)

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup shredded carrots

2 cans of corn, drained

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 cups milk

1 cup water

3 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp veggie oil

1 tsp pepper

2 chicken bouillon cubes (sub ½ tsp salt for vegetarian option)

½ lb bacon, cooked and crumbled (or bacon substitute)

Directions

1. Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Add oil to bottom of pan and brown onions until translucent (4-5 minutes).

2. Add water, potatoes, carrots and bouillon/salt. Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. (This is a good time to work on cooking the bacon.)

3. Add milk, corn, and pepper. Return to simmer, stirring occasionally.

4. Meanwhile, mix cheese and flour by hand in a separate mixing bowl. Add to soup and stir over low-medium heat until cheese melts.

5. Serve sprinkled with crumbled bacon.

Last summer's co-chefs, Chase and Osi, busy chopping potatoes.

Potatoes, carrots, water and bouillon added to the browned onions

and cooking gently.

Milk, corn and pepper in.

Cheese added and melted, ready for serving!

Happy cooking!