Corn and Potato Chowder

Tonight, The Man and I tried the Corn and Chicken Chowder I posted in this week's menu plan. We LOVE homemade potato soup, so this wasn't too far off the "scale-o-comfort".

As usual, I didn't pay much attention to the ingredients before I decided to try this recipe...I just blindly added them to my grocery list and purchased them this morning. When I began making the soup tonight, I noticed the cayenne and chiles and thought it seemed a bit odd...enough so that I almost omitted them completely. Please don't! :) The spice wasn't too much (and I don't do spicy food), and the added flavor was phenomenal! All-in-all, The Man and I absolutely loved this soup, and it is probably going to replace regular potato soup!

I did, however, make some pretty serious modifications, most notably the meat is now gone, and I doubled the amount of potatoes so it would be more hearty. Please feel free to add the chicken and bacon (from the original) and replace the vegetable stock with chicken stock. however, it's not necessary...when the soup was done, I offered The Man some leftover cooked chicken for his, but he chose to go without. He had no regrets!

Here's my version:

4 T butter
1/4 red onion, chopped
4 T flour
6 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 c milk
2 c vegetable stock
1 t Italian seasoning
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 t kosher salt
Ground black pepper to taste
2 c frozen corn
1 4 ounce can diced green chiles
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced green onions

In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and sauté until they are translucent.

Sprinkle the flour over the top of the onions, stirring constantly for one minute.

Add the potatoes, milk, stock, Italian seasoning, cayenne, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil and stir until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the corn and green chiles. Cook over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serve with green onions and cheddar cheese.

When you make this, please let me know what you think!