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

Guy Fieri Loaded Baked Potatoe Soup

It's that time of year when we are craving comfort food and this is one of mine.  I love homemade soup during the winter.  This is one of my favorites.  A couple of years ago my daughter made potato soup that was so delicious and different from what I had been used to.  When I asked her how she made it she told me she had baked the potatoes instead of boiling them.  So from then on I have made my soup this way.  Hope you give it a try, it really is worth the effort...but really it's not that hard.
adapted from here

2 large baking potatoes (Idaho or russet)
6 slices  smoked bacon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

2 cups half and half

1 can chicken broth
3 ounces cheese of your choice , grated *I used taco blend that I had on hand*
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces sour cream
1 small onion diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the potatoes on a roasting tray and bake for 45 minutes. When done, the tip of a paring knife should go through the potatoes easily.
  

Cook in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pot.

Add the flour to the drippings in the pot and stir to combine. Cook, without adding color, until the flour and fat has combined, about 1 minute. Pour in the milk while you whisk to incorporate. Cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

Scoop out the potato pulp from the skins and add to the milk mixture. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon leaving it a little bit chunky.

Add the cooked bacon (leaving a little out for garnishing the soup), 1 cup of the cheese, and season well with salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat.

Ladle the soup in bowls, top with crumbled bacon, some cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  Then say YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!  ☺

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do All the Things you L♥ve.

Donna

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Yet another comfort dish for these cold winter days in Kansas.  Our local grocery store had asparagus on sale so of course I bought some.  Micheal Simon from Iron Chef and the Chew recommends that you save all your stems and such for making soups and stocks.  Well when I made the pork chop I also had asparagus and took the bottoms that I snapped off and made this wonderful soup.  Great for a cold day.  It's super easy and quick to make and I'm sure you'll have all the ingredients in your pantry.  So the next time you have asparagus, broccoli or other veggies remember not to toss the parts you cut off.  If you don't make something right away put them in freezer bags for future use.

Ingredients:
bottom from aparagus
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 carrot sliced or diced
1-2 stalks celery, tops and all
2-3 TBL flour
1/4 - 1/3 cp white wine
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
2 TBL parsley
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 cup water (may need more)
1 packet chicken stock
1/2 - 3/4  half n half
1-2 TBL butter
1-2 TBL bacon fat

In a sauce pan  heat and then add the bacon fat and butter, when melted added 1/2 the onion, saute until clear add a pinch of salt, add the garlic cook about 30 seconds or so.  Add the flour and stir til you have a sand color, add the wine and cook for a minute or two.  Add 1/2 cut of water and  the asparagus, 1/2 the carrot and 1/2 the celery, cook for about 3-5 minutes.  With an emulsion blender cream the ingredients in the pot.  When smooth add the rest of carrots, onion, and celery.  Add the chicken stock more water and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the half n half and sour cream  and simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes.  Add parsley, rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy
Thanks for taking time to stop by and Always Remember to Find the Time to DO all the Things You L♥ve.
Donna

Broccoli and Cheese Soup (LC)

Well it's snowing here in KS ....again....am sooooooooooo ready for Spring and some decent weather.  I wrote this and also made the soup the day it snowed and that day was Feb. 4.    So with that said it was perfect weather for some soup and today's choice was Broccoli and Cheese.  Best part of this one is that it is LC too, and oh so yummy.

1/2 head of broccoli crowns (microwave in bowl with water for about 4 min)
1/2 onion diced
1 - 2 carrots (cook in microwave til almost tender)
3 pcs bacon
4-5 oz. velvetta
4 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2-1 cp half and half (can also use milk)
1 pkt chicken powder seasoning (makes stock)
2/3 cp water
salt and pepper

In stock pot cook bacon, when almost crisp add the onion and cook until translucent.  Add the half and half and start adding the cheeses, cook until melted.  Add 1/3 of broccoli and then use an immersion blender to make it nice
and smooth.  Add the rest of the broccoli and the carrots and simmer until done.
Serve with some sour cream on top and a little bit of fresh parsley.  Enjoy

Thanks for stopping by,  have a great week and Remember to Find the Time to do all the Things YOU L♥ve.
D♥nna

Roasted Cauliflower and Mild Cheddar Soup

Doing LC can be a challenge at times.  You can eat so many things so your menu can be almost limitless (of course minus the carbs...ie bread, rice pasta)  But I can tell you from experience that you should never be hungry eating this way.  If you are you're not following the plan right and you are not eating enough.
Fall is upon us and the weather is just now starting to change.  Here in Kansas you really don't know what the weather will be like from day to day.  I've seen days where it's 40° and the next day it's 85°.  With the weather being a bit cooler the past couple of days I've been craving soup.  Cauliflower is a good veggie when doing LC....so what better to make than a nice roasted cauliflower and cheese soup.  Cheese is also another yummy food you can have with not guilt but you can't go overboard either.


Ingredients:
1/2 head fresh cauliflower (roasted or boiled)
3 cloves garlic
2 medium sized carrots
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
1/3 to 1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar (or cheese of your choice)
1/2 and 1/2 (you can use heavy cream)
1-2 slices of bacon
2 large tomatoes quartered (guess you could use canned tomatoes)
salt and pepper

 In a sauce pan put a cook bacon and cook the onion until tender, add garlic carrots, celery and cauliflower, and tomatoes.  Add chicken stock and cook until tender.  Salt and pepper to taste.  With an emulsion blender blend soup until smooth.  Serve with some fresh basil on top.  Enjoy.
Thanks for taking time from you day to stop by and always Remember to Find the Time to do all the Things You L♥ve.
Donna