Zippy Corn Chowder

It's Michelle again. I went on a soup recipe rampage this winter, hoping to find some delicious soups my whole family liked. This is one of our successes. It is more of an adult soup because it's a little spicy, but you could add a little extra milk to the kids bowls if they don't like spicy. This recipe is adapted from the Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook. Although my recipe isn't diet!

You will need:

1-2 medium onions, chopped (depending on how much you love onion)
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
3 TB butter (or more....)
14 1/2 ounces chicken or vegetable broth
1 extra chicken boullion cube
2 large potatoes, cubed
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (be careful!)
2 tsp Dijon mustard (real Dijon mustard is heavenly)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or ground red pepper
3 C frozen corn
3 cups milk, divided
1/4 C all-purpose flour

Here's what to do:

In a large saucepan, saute the onions and bell peppers in the butter until both are tender. Add the broth, extra boullion cube and potatoes. (The original recipe only calls for broth, but I always add an extra cube for body and flavor.) Bring saucepan mixture to a boil. Reduce heat: cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Stir in jalapeno, mustard, salt, paprika and red pepper flakes or ground red pepper. Add corn and 2 1/2 C milk. Bring to a boil, stirring often.

Combine the flour and remaining milk in a separate container. Mix until smooth. Gradually add flour and milk to the soup mixture. Bring to a boil again. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Makes 2 quarts.

Providence:
This is a good food storage recipe. The addition of milk, butter and Dijon mustard makes it a little more expensive, but if you grow your own onions, potatoes and peppers you can cut the cost a lot. I buy frozen corn on sale for $1. We buy Dijon mustard from Jungle Jim's ($4) and we use one jar a year. You will likely have most of the spices on hand and spices are cheaper if bought in bulk. I don't have an estimate for the overall cost of this, but my guess is about $2.50, based on Ohio prices.

A few tips:
When cutting the jalapeno, be careful! Don't wipe your face, lips or eyes or you get a really nice tingly feeling. That's the best case scenario. I imagine in your eyes it wouldn't tingle.

Use the ground red pepper sparingly. I have never added 1/2 tsp. 1/4 tsp is plenty spicy for my family.

Heavy cream makes this absolutely delicious; however, it is not the most economical so milk will do.

The End: My husband loves this soup. I think it's great and my children think it's okay, but it can get a little spicy for my 4 yr old. I have not tried freezing it or using canned corn, but I imagine with some experimentation you could get a really good alternate recipe.


Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry I don't take step-by-step pictures.