Soups on ... Slow Cooker Corn Chowder

On to day 2 of our featured of soup recipes!  The great thing about crockpots is using a crockpot liner.  I serious LOVE the person who made these! They make it so easy that you can do a quick rinse out and tada you can use it again for the next day!  Oh yeah no more soaking it overnight or longer and not using the crockpot for a few days. 

The next soup we tried out for the family and our friends was a Slow Cooker Corn Chowder I found on Baked by Rachel.  I must say it smelled so good I was tempted to take a little taste but I resisted.  The boys all loved this one and even went back for seconds. 

Ingredients:

5 slices bacon
1 1/2 C onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 16oz can whole corn, drained
1 16oz can creamy style corn
1 tsp thyme
1 C chicken broth
4 C potatoes
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1 C half and half
3-4 tbsp corn starch

Directions:

Cook bacon in a skillet or in your stove. Meanwhile, chop onions into smaller than bite size chunks. If using a skillet for your bacon, reuse the same pan and bacon drippings for your onion. If baking your bacon, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Cook onions until they are nearly translucent. Transfer onions to a small bowl, set aside. Chop up bacon, reserving 1 slice of bits for topping later.

Mince Garlic (either bought or do it yourself). Scrub potatoes and chop into bite size pieces.

Add all ingredients to slow cooker bowl, except corn starch and half and half. Remember to reserve a portion of your chopped bacon. Gently stir ingredients. Cover and cook for 7 1/2 hours on low.

At the 7 1/2 hour mark, add half and half. Give it a quick stir, replace cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Your chowder will not have a creamy look until you add the half and half. It also will not be thick until the final step.

Just before serving add corn starch. This will help to thicken it up. If you add to much you can counteract that by adding a bit more chicken broth into the mix. Add 1 tbsp of corn starch at a time and mix well. It will thicken fairly quick. Continue to add corn starch 1 tbsp at a time until you are satisfied with the consistency. 

Serve warm, topped with bacon.

Alexis Notes: I used turkey bacon and cut it up and crisped it up on the stove top.  Cole found a great new job of peeling potatoes (may not have been perfect but it worked).  And I held back the gagging with the cream of corn ... I'm sorry that is one that will always get me.

Happy Tuesday, Hope you have a wonderful day!

What's on your Meal Plan today?

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Something Sweet but a Surprise Ingredient!

I wanted to bring something sweet with not all the calories to a party a few weeks back.  I went onto the Eating Well Site and found this Double Corn-Blueberry Cobbler.  I was surprised how yummy this was, yes I must admit at first I was a little worried when I saw corn in this recipe.  I did grind up the corn in my ninja so my guest didn't see chunks of corn.  This was a great summer time dish that was loved by all even the men liked it!  My parents have several blueberry bushes in their yard, so I thankfully have a ton in my freezer!

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

• 4 cups blueberries or blackberries (about 1 1/4 pounds), fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon white whole-wheat flour (see Note)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

TOPPING

• 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal, preferably medium- or coarse-ground
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh, frozen (thawed) or canned (well-drained) - This is what I ground up.

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. To prepare filling: Combine berries, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large bowl. (If using frozen fruit, let stand for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to thaw the fruit before transferring to the baking dish.) Transfer to a 9-inch shallow glass or ceramic baking dish.
3. To prepare topping: Whisk 1 cup whole wheat flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until well blended. Whisk egg yolk, buttermilk, oil and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to blend. Fold in corn.
4. Evenly spoon the batter on top of the berry mixture; the fruit will be almost completely covered with batter. Place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake until the berries are bubbly, the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the topping comes out clean, 35 to 50 minutes. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy it was a real crowd pleasure!

Have a wonderful week!