30 minute Chicken Corn Chowder

Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1 med onion, chopped
2 celery, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp flour
1 c chicken or vegetable stock
3 c milk
2 cooked chicken breast halves, chopped
1 can cream style corn
2 red potatoes, diced
1 1/2 c frozen corn
1/4 tsp thyme (or 1 tsp fresh)
about 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Melt butter in a large Dutch Oven or stock pot over medium heat.
   
2. Add onion, celery, and jalapeno and cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
3. Add flour, cooking 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Add chicken stock to deglaze pan, stirring up any bits of flour stuck to the bottom.
   
5. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients.
6. Bring to a boil, cook until thick (about 5 minutes).

**the creamed corn isn't necessary. If I don't have it in the pantry, I just add a little more corn and maybe some cornstarch in the stock if I want it thicker. This chowder has a little bit of a bite from the jalapeno. If you don't have a fresh pepper, you can also used canned green chilies (I used these last night). This soup does require a good bit of salt to really taste fresh and "bright".

I've served this soup when I had friends over for lunch and topped it with a couple tortilla chips and a little sharp cheddar cheese. For a more decorative serving, I'd make multi-colored tortilla strips to garnish. This Chicken Corn Chowder is incredibly filling and satisfying for such a quick meal, taking me about 30 minutes from start to finish. Less if I use onion and celery that I've already chopped and thrown in the freezer.