Crockpot Corn & Potato Chowder
Ingredients
5 Cups, Chicken Broth *(store bought or homemade)
1 Tablespoon, Olive Oil
1 White Onion, Chopped
1 Red Pepper, Chopped
4-5 small, Pepperoncini Peppers, chopped
2-3 Cups, Corn
1 large, Chipotle Chile in adobo sauce, chopped
5 Smaller (about 2 cups), Potatoes, cubed
1 Can (14.5oz), Fire Roasted Tomatoes
8-10 slices, Bacon, cooked/chopped
2 Tablespoons, Chives, for garnish
1 Cup, Chicken, shredded
S&P
2 Cups, Milk or Cream
1 Tablespoon, Butter, unsalted
Instructions
Turn Crockpot on to high heat.
To the crockpot, add the olive oil, diced onion, red pepper, pepperoncini peppers, potatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, chipotle chile and broth. After about an hour add the corn (reserve about 1/2 cup of your corn for garnish), add S&P and stir well. Cook on High for about 4-5 hours. After 4-5 hours, use an emulsion blender to puree your soup. You can puree it right in the crockpot. Puree to your desired texture. Taste and add more S&P if needed.
Cook the bacon until nice & crispy. I bake mine in the oven. Place bacon on a baking sheet that is sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees until nice and crispy. Remove from oven, set onto paper towels and set aside until soup is done. If you make the bacon ahead just place in fridge until you are ready to serve the soup. Chop bacon with a knife, set aside.
After you have pureed your soup and just before soup is ready to serve (about 15 minutes before serving) add the bacon to the crockpot; reserve about 2-3 slices of the bacon that is chopped for garnish. Also, add about 1/2 of the chicken to the crockpot to get it hot again. Reserve some to garnish on top of the soup.
Just before serving the soup: On the stove, over medium heat add the remaining corn, bacon and shredded chicken in a tablespoon of butter. Season with S&P. Cook for only a few minutes to heat through.
To serve: Place about a cup of soup in each bowl; garnish with some fresh chives, shredded chicken, bacon and corn.
Tips
I made my own homemade broth for this recipe. I do buy store bought broth (usually one that is low-sodium and gluten free). But today I made my own; it made enough for the soup plus extra for later.
I just store in an airtight container and place in fridge if I am going to use it in the same week. Otherwise, place in the freezer and thaw out any time you need some broth in your recipes.
Another great idea is to freeze broth in an ice cube tray and then you have small cubes of broth for when you only need a small amount to add to a recipe. The chicken that I cooked in the broth got used in this soup recipe also. I would normally use chicken parts to make broth. I didn’t have any so I used 2 Chicken breasts. Once broth was done and chicken was cooked, I removed the chicken and shredded it. I used 1 chicken (shredded) for the soup and have leftover to use later in the week for another recipe.
Check out how I made my own Broth: Homemade Chicken Broth
Mangia! Enjoy!