Corn Chowder

Baby it's cold outside!

Faced with the prospect of coming in tonight after sport and feeling quite chilled to the bone I decided that some soup was in order - nothing warms you like a bowl of steaming soup!!

I have been making this recipe for more years than I care to mention - but I have "tweaked" it a little today - I have taken out the butter that you soften the vegetables in, and cooked them in chicken stock instead. A much healthier option than adding the unnecessary saturated fat!

Corn Chowder

4 x cobs of corn
2 x carrots, diced
1 x onion, finely diced
4 x potatoes, diced
2 x rashers of bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 x can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 cup milk

Place the cobs of corn in a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Boil for a few minutes, just to take the crispness off them. Drain and cool slightly. When they are cool enough to handle slice the individual kernels from the cobs. The original recipe called for canned corn - but why would you when fresh corn is so lovely and sweet??

Into the pan add the diced onions and the chopped bacon and fry over medium high heat until the onion softens. There is no need to add any oil - the small amount of the fat in the bacon is all you need. Cook until the onion and bacon run out of their own juices - you will see - it will start to stick to the pan.

Add to the pan the remaining diced vegetables and pour in just enough chicken stock to cover them. Cook the vegetables for approximately 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften, stirring constantly.

Add the can of chicken soup and the remaining chicken stock. Simmer gently until the vegetables are soft, around 10-15 minutes. Make sure you stir regularly as the vegetables tend to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Season to taste with salt and some freshly ground pepper. Add the milk and heat through.

So tell me Dear Readers, is there a favourite recipe that you have "tweaked" over the years to make it a little "healthier"?

You know nothing makes me feel happier than to hear from one of you that you have tried one of my recipes, or that you are about to try one.

The best compliment I have received was today when one of my Dear Readers told me that I had inspired her!! Sometimes all we need is a little bit of "inspiration" to change the mundane boring job of producing a meal each night into... well, maybe an "adventure". To be enticed to try something a little bit different, something that we may not have thought about trying before. Or perhaps it is being told about something that is just so easy to prepare that it makes your life a whole lot easier.

So thank you Dear Reader - I love you!!!! I do sooo love to hear when I have helped make your meal preparations a little easier.