Corn Chowder with bacon and potatoes

I have been craving this soup for a week or so, and our weather here in Kansas has been just crazy.  One day 77 and the next barely in the mid 30's.  So this was the perfect time to make this.  I've never made corn chowder before and I've only had it a couple of times and really enjoyed it.

This came our sooooooooooooooo yummy....I will make it again for sure.  I took this to work and shared with some of my co workers and they all loved it.  Just enough left for 1 one serving.  Which I will totally enjoy.

PRINT:

Ingredients

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled*
1/4 cup butter, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces
1 large red bell pepper, diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium yellow onion, diced (1 1/4 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced slightly less than 1/2-inch thick (3 cups)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2  cans corndrained
1 can creamed corn
1  cup half and half
1/2 - 1 cup heavy cream
3 oz cream cheese
3 oz Cracker Barrel White Cheddar Cheese
2 tsp dried thyme
Chives, chopped
sour cream


Directions:

Boil cubed potatoes until almost done, drain.
In large sauce pan cook bacon til crispy, set aside but leave fat in pan.  Add 1 TBL of butter to fat and then add 1/2 chopped onion.
Preheat oven to 450°, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the red pepper cut in half and the other half of the onion.  Cook until tender.  Set aside.
Back to bacon fat and butter, when onion is opaque add the garlic.  Add 2 TBL flour and stir until you get a wet sand look.  Add the chicken stock slowly and use whisk to stir so you get a nice smooth mixture.  Add all the corn, cooked pepper and onions and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper to taste.  Add the half and half and potatoes and cook for about 20 minutes at real slow low simmer.  The potatoes will continue to cook.  At this point I turned off the heat and let the flavors meld.  I finished the soup the next morning.    I melted butter in the microwave, added 2 TBL flour and made a roux.  I then added a 1/3 cut heavy cream and mixed til smooth.  I added that to the soup, added more heavy cream and simmered for about 10 minutes.  I then added the thyme and the cream cheese and simmered until the cheese melted.
When you serve garnish with chives and sour cream.  Enjoy with your favorite bread.
YUM, YUM, YUM
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the Things You L♥ve.
Donna

Italian Cream Lemon Cake

Not quite sure why they call this Italian Cream Cake because there is not sort of Italian stuff in it.   The gal from the site listed below said heavy cream is the only cream they have in Italy.  HMMM interesting.  Wonder if this would be good with maybe ricotta cheese in it.  May try that and see.
 I made this for my Monday Work Treat.  Another I found on Pinterest that looked really yummy and was a had to try recipe.

adapted from here

Ingredients

2 cups + 1 tablespoon flour (270 grams)
1 3/4 cups icing/powdered sugar (218.75 grams)
4 eggs
2/3 cup whole cream (150 ml) (heavy cream or whipping cream)
7 tablespoons butter melted (100 grams)
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla (5 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder (10 grams)
1/2 teaspoon salt (2.85 grams)

Here is its before the Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius). Lightly grease and flour an 9 1/2 inch bundt cake (24 centimeter) (I'm sure a 9 inch round cake pan would work)
In a large bowl beat on medium speed eggs and sugar (powdered/icing sugar) until light and fluffy,
Melt butter and let cool completely.
Grate the peel of one lemon.(zest)
In a medium bowl whisk together flour,baking powder and salt, then alternating with the cream gently fold into egg mixture with a spatula, keep folding until mixture is combined, gently fold in lemon peel, vanilla and melted butter, pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes. Let cool, then dust with powdered/icing sugar. Enjoy!

 Thanks for stopping  by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to DO ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
Donna

Chocolate Brownie Bread

 I was stumped as to what to make for my Monday Work Treat.  I was in the mood for baking, I had already made a large batch of my scratch brownies for my grandson and for a good friend.  I just couldn't  decide what to make.  Ii thought maybe a cranberry quick bread (but made that already) then maybe some sort of danish ....but those taste better the day they are made.  Then sconces came to mind, again those are best the day they are made and I really didn't feel like having to do stuff before I went to work.  It's bad enough it's Monday already!   I only work 4 days a week Mon-Thurs. but times my 3 days off go very quickly. 

adapted from here

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
½ cup butter- melted
1 egg
1 and ½ cups buttermilk
1 and ½ cups flour
1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
****1 instant chocolate pudding mix (4 serving size)*****
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
¾ cup mini chocolate chips

***I didn't have instant pudding so I searched for a substitute and this is what I found and used to make this bread.  3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. choc flavoring or you could use vanilla.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease 2 9x5 loaf pans.
2. Combine melted butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir until combined.
3. Add egg and buttermilk and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pudding mix, and cocoa powder. Stir until mixed.
5. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until fully incorporated.
6. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and top with mini chocolate chips.
8. Place back in oven and bake for another 20-25 min or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time To Do ALL the Things YOU L♥ve.
Donna

Buttermilk Biscuits

I found this recipe on FB the only thing I changed was I didn't have buttermilk so I made my own. Wow Are these awesome...the family loved them too.  Very quick to make and well worth it.

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups self rising flour
8 TBL sugar
1 stick butter, frozen *if you use unsalted add pinch of salt to recipe*
1 1/3 cup buttermilk * I used 2/3 cup half and half 1/2 cup water and 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar *
1 cup of AP flour for coating.
1/4 melted butter
Directions:
preheat oven 425° line  bottom of 8x8  pan with parchment paper and have two sides over hang.  Butter bottom, set aside.
Mix flour and sugar together, grate frozen butter into flour, knead with hands to get butter incorperated but don't over work.  Slowly add buttermilk and mix til combined...AGAIN DON'T OVERWORK.  This dough will be very wet.  On a large piece of wax paper or a cookie sheet spread out the 1 cup of flour.  Using two large spoons drop dough on flour *made them the size you want your biscuit to be*  gentle shake them around then pick them up and toss them gently from hand to hand they will make into a ball on their own.  Place in pan, make sure they are all touching.  They should make about 16 good size biscuits.  Bake for 25 minutes or until just light golden brown, remove and brush with butter and return for another 4 to 5 minutes.  Immediately remove, separate and enjoy.

Hope you try these, the family kept saying these are the best, and oh boy would they be good as biscuits and gravy, with apple butter, with jelly, with bacon, egg and cheese.  So see a very big hit.
Have a great week and always Remember to Find the Time to DO ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
Donna