Laura’s chilly day corn chowder

It's soup season! We both love soup and even though we eat chili year-round, I tend to save the majority of my soup making for fall and winter. Every year Andy requests a big pot of clam chowder for his birthday, but we gobbled it up so fast last week that he didn't get to have any on his actual birthday (this past Saturday). Solution: more soup! We settled on corn chowder and I searched the web for a recipe that had great reviews and simple directions so I could whip it up while also getting the house ready for our weekend guests. I ultimately decided to merge several different recipes into one based on what I thought sounded yummy. I love one pot meals, especially ones that feed lots of people!

a somewhat similar chowder from BH&G

Laura's chilly day corn chowder
serves 8 generously
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 45 minutes

6 strips of bacon
1 leek
3-4 green onions
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 red pepper
1 bay leaf
24 oz chicken broth
2 pounds small white potatoes
2 cups half and half
4 cups frozen corn
1 can creamed corn
salt and pepper

1. Dice the bacon and cook it in a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium low heat. While bacon cooks, finely chop the leek, green onions, yellow onion and red pepper. When chopping the green onions, separate the white bulb parts from the green parts. Keep an eye on the bacon and stir occasionally. Once cooked, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, spread out over a paper towel and set aside. Remove all but one tablespoon of oil from the pot.
2. Cook leeks, green onions, onions and peppers in the bacon fat over low heat until tender, stirring often (about ten minutes). While veggies are cooking, cut the potatoes into one-inch chunks. Peel if desired (I didn't).
3. Add chicken broth, bay leaf, potatoes and several pinches of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
4. Add frozen and creamed corn, the half and half and the cooked bacon bits (save some for topping the soup if you want). Continue to cook on low heat for about ten minutes.
5. Remove bay leaf and add more salt and pepper to taste.
6. Use an immersion blender to thicken the soup OR separate half of the soup into a stand blender, blend until smooth and add back into soup. The result should be a thick soup that still has some potato chunks in it.
7. Spoon soup into bowls and top with the green onions and any remaining bacon bits. Cheese and sour cream could also be added.

enjoy!