It is the thick of summer vegetables. I am having issues keeping up with my box! So last night it was imperative that I get us to consume a good chunk of the produce. Once again I turned to old faithful, Eating Well Serves Two. It is an awesome little cookbook. I was explaining to Dennis last night that a lot of his favorites came from this book. When I mentioned Parsnip & Apple Stew, he remarked that we hadn't eaten that in a while. I reminded him that we wouldn't be eating it again until the winter. We both are getting used to eating seasonally. It really makes you appreciate a recipe.
I really needed to use up some corn and potatoes, so why not serve up Corn and Bacon Chowder? It took me a little while to prep, because I had to slice the corn off the cob and dice up my own potatoes (why would I buy packaged diced potatoes?). However, it was all worth it because we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Dennis sliced up some cucumber and tomatoes (that were also starting to pile up on me) and I threw salad dressing on them. He liked the cucumber/tomato combo because it reminded him of the salads in Greece. Maybe next time I'll throw some feta on top of it for kicks and giggles.
I've already decided to cook a batch of this and freeze it. I'll just skip the bacon step and add that in when I reheat later. I told Dennis we would either enjoy it 6 months from now when corn is no where in sight or next month when I don't feel like cooking.
Mandy's Notes: I did not add the extra olive oil the recipe calls for, I just used the leftover bacon grease. I diced up my own russet potatoes instead of using packaged potatoes. And I used fresh corn, not just because I had it fresh but because frozen corn has a weird waxy consistency that turns me off. While I would have liked to have added chives, we had none on hand. Oh well!
Cooking up some bacon.
Browning some onions and garlic.
Added the broth, milk, corn, and potatoes.
Isn't everything better with bacon?
Corn and Bacon Chowder
(Serves two)
2 slices of bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
½ cup low-fat milk
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen diced hash brown potatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon lemon juice or rice vinegar
1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook, stirring often, until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
2. Add oil, onion, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot and stir to combine. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown and soften, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onion mixture and stir to coat. Add broth and milk and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add corn and potatoes, increase heat to medium-high and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Transfer 1 cup of the soup to a blender, and puree until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan along with chives, lemon juice (or vinegar) and the cooked bacon.
Makes 2 servings, 1 ½ cups each.
Per serving: 338 calories; 17 g fat (5 g sat, 9 g mono); 15 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrates; 12 g protein; 4 g fiber; 444 mg sodium; 507 mg potassium.
Note (8/7/2010): I recently found myself with a surpluss of corn. I decided to double this recipe and freeze it. I decided to skip putting the bacon in until later, so that there would be chewy bacon in my soup. I divided the the soup into two 1-quart freezer bags and laid them flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, you can remove the cookie sheet and you'll have nice flat bags. This way they'll stack easily and thaw out faster.
I really needed to use up some corn and potatoes, so why not serve up Corn and Bacon Chowder? It took me a little while to prep, because I had to slice the corn off the cob and dice up my own potatoes (why would I buy packaged diced potatoes?). However, it was all worth it because we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Dennis sliced up some cucumber and tomatoes (that were also starting to pile up on me) and I threw salad dressing on them. He liked the cucumber/tomato combo because it reminded him of the salads in Greece. Maybe next time I'll throw some feta on top of it for kicks and giggles.
I've already decided to cook a batch of this and freeze it. I'll just skip the bacon step and add that in when I reheat later. I told Dennis we would either enjoy it 6 months from now when corn is no where in sight or next month when I don't feel like cooking.
Mandy's Notes: I did not add the extra olive oil the recipe calls for, I just used the leftover bacon grease. I diced up my own russet potatoes instead of using packaged potatoes. And I used fresh corn, not just because I had it fresh but because frozen corn has a weird waxy consistency that turns me off. While I would have liked to have added chives, we had none on hand. Oh well!
Cooking up some bacon.
Browning some onions and garlic.
Added the broth, milk, corn, and potatoes.
Isn't everything better with bacon?(Serves two)
2 slices of bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
½ cup low-fat milk
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen diced hash brown potatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon lemon juice or rice vinegar
1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook, stirring often, until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
2. Add oil, onion, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot and stir to combine. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown and soften, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onion mixture and stir to coat. Add broth and milk and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add corn and potatoes, increase heat to medium-high and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Transfer 1 cup of the soup to a blender, and puree until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the saucepan along with chives, lemon juice (or vinegar) and the cooked bacon.
Makes 2 servings, 1 ½ cups each.
Per serving: 338 calories; 17 g fat (5 g sat, 9 g mono); 15 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrates; 12 g protein; 4 g fiber; 444 mg sodium; 507 mg potassium.
Note (8/7/2010): I recently found myself with a surpluss of corn. I decided to double this recipe and freeze it. I decided to skip putting the bacon in until later, so that there would be chewy bacon in my soup. I divided the the soup into two 1-quart freezer bags and laid them flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, you can remove the cookie sheet and you'll have nice flat bags. This way they'll stack easily and thaw out faster.
Let me just say, this smelled so good when you were cooking it last night! Yum! I like that a corner of my zucchini gratin made a guest appearance. lol.
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