Corn & Bacon Chowder

I had 4 ears of corn leftover from our Saturday bbq, and was about to throw them out when Tony suggested I make a corn chowder.  I cut off all the ears of corn – since they were cooked on the grill I thought it would lend a nice smokey flavor to the chowder.

Except I am an idiot.  We had two flies in our house that were driving me insane, and in an attempt to kill one, I sprayed Windex in the air, only to miss the fly and spray my corn. 😦  Luckily I had 4 more ears of corn in the fridge, so I just microwaved them and used those.

Corn & Bacon Chowder Recipe (printer friendly version here)

Makes 4 servings (1 cup serving:  179 calories, 5.3 fat, 25.5 carbs, 3.0 fiber and 9.7 protein)

A great way to use up leftover corn on the cob.

Ingredients

1	ounce bacon (two slices)
4	cloves garlic
1	cup corn (about 4 ears of corn)
1	cup red potatoes
1/2	teaspoon dried thyme
1/8	teaspoon salt
1/8	teaspoon ground pepper
1	tablespoon flour
2	cups chicken broth
1/2	cup 2% milk
1	teaspoon lemon juice
2	tablespoons chopped jalapeno (1/2 small jalapeno)
1	pinch cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Cut corn off of cob – 4 large ears = 1 cup corn kernals.
2. Cook bacon in dutch oven – 1 oz. = 2 strips of bacon.
3. Remove after cooked, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot and stir to combine. Sprinkle flour over garlic mixture and stir to coat. Add broth and milk and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly.
4. Add corn and potatoes, increase heat to medium high and simmer until potatoes are cooked through – about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Using a stick blender, puree soup. Serve with 1/2 piece of cooked bacon and fresh thyme.

I added the jalapeno and cayenne after tasting the chowder because the corn was almost too sweet – with the addition of the heat it balanced out perfectly!

My brother Charlie left to go home today.  We met him and his family at Stir Crazy at Woodfield.  The mall closed at 6:00 because of the 4th – the restaurant was practically empty!

I got the lunch size portion (which was still huge!) of the Kung Pao Chicken.  It had two chiles next to it on the menu so I expected it to be really spicy.

I needed a bit more of a kick!

We had some fireworks leftover from last year.  One thing you don’t know about Hannah – she’s a pyro!  Loves, loves, loves shooting off fireworks!

And we had bottle rockets.

Tony had other ideas – he decided to light fire crackers on our table in a garbage can – scared the shit out of the dog!

I updated our 101 Days of Summer page – week 5 already!   There are quite a few I need to track down since I haven’t heard from them in a while!  And if I missed your week 5 update – please let me know!

Shelley ran the farthest she’s ever run – FIVE MILES!

Morgan and Susan could use some cheerleaders, just not feeling it – if you could stop by and give em a pep talk, I would appreciate it!

Alright, I am off to meal plan and grocery shop – I wish every weekend could be a four day weekend! 😀