Make Something: Harvest Cheddar Chowder

So I've read about a dozen recipes for fall soups and stews over the past week, so this weekend, I finally got off of my butt and made one.

 

Well, I didn't make just one. I took my favorite parts of a bunch of different recipes and I made my own soup. Actually, I made a chowder. Let me explain.

I started with these:

• 4 baking potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 of a white onion
• small can of corn "niblets"
• salted butter
• heaving whipping cream
• cheddar cheese
• sourdough bread

What isn't pictured in this photo are the bacon and beer that I decided to incorporate into the recipe at the last minute! 
 
So I put about 1 tablespoon of butter into a large pot with the finely diced onion.  After the onion softened a bit, I tossed in about 2 strips of diced bacon to brown. 
 

After the bacon had cooked almost all the way through, I threw in some roughly chopped carrots.  It's important to note that I chopped the carrots in all sorts of sizes so that some of the carrots were mushy and soft, but a few retained a bit of their shape.  It was at this time I added the diced potatoes also.  Peeling them is optional, but I chose to peel them for this recipe. 

 

After  everything had heated up and started cooking, I tossed in the can of corn (with the juice), about a cup or two of water, one chicken boullion cube, and half of a can of beer.  (You can see the can in the left of the photo below.)

 

 

Then I let it simmer away for about 20 minutes.  After this time, I drizzled in some cream (only about 1/4 cup) and 4 ounces of cubed mild cheddar cheese.  This was the stage in which I tossed in some salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper too! 

 

Finally, I threw it into a bowl and served it with a slice of sourdough bread. 

 

Even though Big Mike says he doesn't like soup, he ate two bowls of this stuff.  I was shocked!  The man who doesn't eat soup ate two bowls of my Harvest Cheddar Chowder.  Apparently by combining some of his favorite things (potatoes, cheese, and beer) that I've found something he'll actually enjoy.  Who knew? 

 

So now that the weather is cooling off (or at least it's trying to here in Southern California) I want to try more soup recipes.  Got one you want me to try?  Send it to me or leave it in the comments section! 

 

Eat happy! 

 

Kipp