What's on the Menu? Corn Chowder for a cold evening!

OK, it's cold outside and my pantry is severely depleted since I was out of town all weekend.  The last thing I wanted to do was go to the store in 17*F with wind to boot!  Obviously I wanted to feed my family something warm and stick to your ribs, but what to make?!?  I opened the freezer and saw that bag of frozen corn and I knew exactly what I was going to fix!  Creamy Corn Chowder!  Nothing hits the spot like a good soup!

This is a Betty Crocker recipe that I tweaked a bit to suit my taste!  You gotta love Betty!












4 slices of bacon (I use turkey bacon, more meat, less fat, just as yummy)
1/4 c butter
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 small carrot, shredded
2 gloves of garlic, minced
(I added chopped red bell pepper, about a 1/2 of a big one.)
3 tbsp. flour
3 c. chicken broth
3 c. frozen corn
2 medium potatoes, cubed small
3 c. half & half (I only used 2 cuz that's all I had!)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a large soup pan or Dutch oven until crispy, remove and crumble.  Add butter, onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper and garlic to the pot and saute until tender.  Add flour, stir well, cook about 2 minutes.  Slowly add broth.  Stir in corn, potatoes, half & half, herbs and seasonings.  Heat to simmer.  Cook about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Add in the bacon crumbs.  Serve and enjoy!

I served the chowder with fresh popovers!  It was awesome!  I'm thinking Tabasco might have been a tasty addition, but we were out, so I don't know for sure!