Kern ernd Cherkern Cherder (a.k.a. Corn and Chicken Chowder)

Speaking like that will really never get old. Never. Ever. I will be getting married and say "er der" instead of "I do". That is how much it means to me.
But now to the main point of the post, I have been pestering my mom to let me cook dinner so I can blog about it. And there is something with me and cooking soups that just makes me happy and my family not so much. I just like stirring things I guess. I found this recipe through foodgawker, and adapted it according to what I like and what we had (I'm terrible at making grocery lists because I always get too lazy to check if we have a certain ingredient and then assume we have cayenne pepper when we really haven't ever owned any...)

Corn and Chicken Chowder: Adapted from Buns In My Oven

Makes a ridiculous amount of soup that could feed a village

Ingredients...

- 30 ounce can of corn

- 6 slices of bacon, chopped

- Half a medium bundle of green onions (separate whites from greens)

- 3 medium potatoes

- 1 medium onion

- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

- 3 cups whole milk

- 2 cups (one can) chicken stock

- 1/2 tsp. all spice

- 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

- 1/4 tsp. shichimi togarashi (red pepper mix), you can also use cayenne pepper

- 4 ounces green chiles

- 2 cups shredded chicken (I sauteed my own but you can also use rotisserie store bought chicken)

- Salt and pepper

- Garlic salt

- Grated cheddar cheese (garnish)

Let's get cookin' good lookin'...

1. In a large pot (you'll only be using one pot the whole time so make sure it's a large one) fry the bacon.

2. Remove the bacon from the pot once it's crisp and set it aside. LEAVE THE DRIPPINGS IN THE POT.

3. Peel and chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces.

4. Chop the green onions super thin, making sure to separate the greens from the whites.

5. Place the potatoes, chopped onion, and chopped green onions (the white ones... wow that sounds confusing) in the pot and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until onions are soft.

6. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

7. Pour in the milk, chicken stock, all spice, thyme, parsley, shichimi togarashi, salt, pepper, and garlic salt.

8. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

9. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

10. Add corn, chicken, and green chiles.

11. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

12. Garnish with any extra onions, bacon, or cheddar cheese.

13. Voila! Delicious soup.

Final ruling...

This has to be my second favorite soup I have ever made. My first favorite is chicken alphabet soup and that will be making an appearance on the blog sometime in the near future. It's hearty enough to be a meal, but I paired it with bacon sandwiches anyways. Because my dad loves bacon. There are enough leftovers to feed me for days and I have a feeling it will be one of those "even better as leftovers" meals. It's a lot of prep but it's totally worth it!

Until next time,

A