CREAMY CORN CHOWDER

A friend requested the recipe for my creamy corn chowder, so here it is.
A lot of people cringe when I mention this soup. I have to admit that I did too when I first heard of it. I am also not really a big soup eater. That being said, the minute I tasted it, I was in love. It has been one of my favorites and I crave it often. I love pairing it with grilled cheese on whole wheat. I break up the sandwich and throw it right in my bowl. My husband is more of a dipper. I also like to sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on it as well. Try that out.

INGREDIENTS:

3 small potatoes
diced into 1/2 inch cubes

2 cups boiling water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 medium onion

2 TBSP. butter

1 3/4 cups fresh, frozen or canned corn
about 1 pkg if frozen
if you use canned, drain well

2 TBSP sliced canned, jarred or fresh pimento *optional*

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup half and half

1 TBSP. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. Paprika

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water and salt until tender. About 20 min. Drain.

2. Saute onion in butter until tender.

3. Stir onions into potato, corn, pimento, milk, half and half, brown sugar and paprika. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Simmer 20 to 30 min longer until soup is thickened.

So that is the original recipe but of course, I like to stray off the beaten path and make it my own. This is really the kind of soup that you can make to your liking. I have no idea how many servings this recipe makes but I do know that it is not enough for me. I make at least double and I freeze a bunch of it. I also don't use the same ratio's of ingredients. I like my soup thick, chunky and hearty,  with lots or corn, potatoes and onion and not so much broth. Now I sure don't measure water to boil potatoes lol Sometimes if I have a vegetable stock made or frozen, I use that instead of water to boil potatoes for extra flavor. I also like this soup to be sweet and spicy which it kind of is on it's own but I amp it up a bit. I use a bit more sugar, paprika and pepper, lots of pepper. I do this little by little, tasting each time until I like the way it tastes.

On a side note. Cream does not agree so I would rather not use the half and half at all. The majority of the time that I make this soup, I use a rue. Equal amounts of butter and flour that you cook off in the pot first then add the milk and simmer for a few min before adding any of the other ingredients. I also use fat free skim milk. This also cuts calories :)