84: Loaded Baked Potato Chowder

After a weekend of rich foods and lots of desserts (chocolate fountain anyone?) this week my tummy is craving something simpler. Today’s recipe is actually a combination of a couple of recipes I’ve found online, and is using up what I’ve got in the fridge.

Soups are probably my favourite food for lunches and weeks like this when the weather has been up and down. We’ve still got the fireplace going here (it’s our primary source of heat in the house), and it’s so nice to curl up in my chair with some soup and catch up on some reading. I’ve been running in overdrive for a little while trying to get a head start on some programs, running evening programs for work, and spending time with friends, and my body and mind really need some time spent in quiet solitude. I am definitely an introvert by nature!

Loaded Baked Potato Chowder
Our Best Bites and Kraft Foods

2 tbsp Butter
5 tbsp Flour
1 cup Chicken Stock (or 1 Cup water, 2 tsp chicken soup base)
1 cup Milk (2 if not using sour cream/yogurt)
1 cup Sour Cream/Yogurt*
1 lb Potatoes
1 Green onion, sliced (or 1 small onion, finely diced)
3 cloves Garlic
Bacon (to taste :) )
1 can Corn
1/2 cup Cheddar, shredded
Salt & Pepper

Cook your bacon to desired crispness. I like to cook mine in the oven so I lay the bacon on a cookie sheet and put into a cold oven. Cook for ~20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

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If it’s 6:30pm and you’ve got a hungry baby leaping around inside of you, take a minute to prepare some Pumpernickel and spinach dip (i.e. pop open the container…). Don’t worry about double dipping if you’re the only one home who will be eating it!

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Melt the butter in a large saucepan and once browning, add in the flour. Stir together for a minute then add in the 1 cup chicken stock, stirring constantly. Once all lumps are gone, add in the milk and sour cream (or yogurt!*). Technically you should be adding 2 cups of milk and a 1/4 cup of sour cream, but I found out I only had 1 cup of milk halfway through making the recipe and just changed things around.

Allow mixture to simmer then add in the chopped potatoes, garlic and onion. Simmer for 20 minutes then add in corn, cheese and chopped crispy bacon. Cook until all cheese has melted.

Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Serve and enjoy!

*I replace sour cream with yogurt quite often in recipes to decrease the fat content and to add in some probiotics (it’s been in the last 3 recipes!).

This month I’ve been using Asana yogurt, and I haven’t pulled out the sour cream once. It’s extra calcium in my diet and my body can use as much as possible in preparation for breastfeeding!

Jen

Also posted at Tasty Tuesday and Tempt my Tummy Tuesday link parties. Check out the other great recipes this week!