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