Corn Chowder

During the end of the summer season I made Maggy a corn chowder based upon a recipe I found on a really neat recipe site called simply recipes. We really enjoyed the chowder and I thought I would share it with you guys here.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup of minced speck or bacon.
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapenos, deseeded and finely diced
3 ears of sweet corn, cut the kernels off the cobs and place in a bowl. Keep the cobs.
3 cups of beef broth
1/2 cup milk, whole or low fat
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 Bay Leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, bring the beef broth to a boil and add the corn cobs to it. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat. Toss the cobs afterward.

In a large sauce pan, add the butter and fry the bacon on medium heat until it renders it's fat but does not brown. About 4 or 5 minutes. Add the onions and saute for another 4 or 5 minutes until soft. Add the carrots and celery and saute another 4 or 5 minutes.

Now add the red pepper, potato, bay leaf, jalapeno, and beef broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Salt and pepper to taste at this point, you may also add a little chili powder to add some spice at this point. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Until the potato is fork tender.

Raise the heat, add the corn kernels, milk, and the thyme. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve with warm bread and enjoy.