Chicken, Bean, Corn & Cheddar Chowder

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 slices bacon
• onion (large, finely chopped)
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin or 1 teaspoon thyme
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 -2 potato (thin-skinned, diced)
• 2 cups beans (cooked) or 19 ounces beans (rinsed and drained)
• 12 ounces kernel corn (or kernels scraped from 2 corn cobs)
• 1 cup chicken (cooked and chopped)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half or 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup old cheddar cheese, shredded
• salt
• pepper

Recipe

• 1 in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, cook the bacon (if using) until crisp.
• 2 transfer it to paper towels to drain and cool, then crumble and set it aside.
• 3 if you're not using bacon, heat a drizzle of oil and blob of butter in the saucepan over medium heat.
• 4 saute the onion and celery in the bacon drippings (or oil and butter) for about 5 minutes, until soft.
• 5 add the flour and cumin and cook, stirring, for another minute.
• 6 stir in the stock, potatoes, and beans and bring to a simmer.
• 7 reduce the heat, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
• 8 stir in the corn, chicken, and cream and allow the chowder to return to a gentle simmer.
• 9 add the cheese and stir just until it melts.
• 10 season with salt and pepper and serve hot, topped with crumbled bacon, if using.