Corn Chowder

Make roux by melting ½ c. butter in a small saucepan then adding ½ c. flour. Stir until well combined and bubbly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the following and place in large pot:

5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped

Cover vegetables with water and cook until potatoes are tender, but not mushy. Without draining water, add the following:

Two cans corn, drained (Or you can use frozen corn. Just put in about as much frozen corn as would be in two cans, probably about two cups. I prefer the flavor of frozen corn, but it's really good with canned corn, too!)

Stir in roux until mixture is thickened and then add milk to your desired consistency.

Stir in:

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook over low flame until hot and well combined, about 20 minutes. (Be careful, it will burn easily!)

When serving, top with grated cheese if desired.

From whence it came: This recipe came from Lynn, the younger sister of The Spy Who Loves Me. You might remember me telling you about her in the Chicken Crescent Roll Ups recipe. I remember one time, about 20 years ago, she made this soup when the whole family was camping up in the Redwood National Forest. It was such a fun trip, and this soup was perfect for a chilly night under the stars. A little disclaimer about me and camping, I'm not the biggest lover of the experience. I had a great time on the Redwood trip, but given the chance, I'll take a cabin over a tent any day of the week. The Spy Who Loves Me comes from a family of brave and studly campers. I come from a family of brave and studly hotelers. The thought that was going through my head as that man signed the marriage license was, "I'm must convert him to cabin camping." And I did. And he prefers it! We have a tent, at least I think we do, maybe we don't, I'm not sure. Who cares...we are a cabin lovin' family! Someday I'll tell you the story about when we were staying in a cabin in the woods and while on a family quad ride The Spy Who Loves Me took to flirting with a very large cow. He was trying to look menacing by standing up really tall on the quad so the beast would move out of the middle of the road. The roast beast took it as flirting and we hit the gas on our quads and high tailed it out of there. Flirting with a cow wasn't his best decision ever, but in the end, we lived to tell about it. Remember how I said that someday I'd tell you the story about when The Spy Who Loves Me flirted with a cow? I just did!

Why it's blogable: It's good ol' comfort food! You just feel so warm and cozy when you serve this soup for dinner. It isn't exactly figure friendly, but it's worth letting your belt out a notch...or two!

Roux: If you've never used a roux to thicken soup, don't be scared. It is so easy, and it adds amazing flavor and creaminess. You just use equal amounts of butter and flour. Melt the butter, then stir in the flour and let it cook until it bubbles, stirring constantly. Each little tiny bit of flour will be coated with butter and that way you won't get any lumps. You can do it! I believe in roux...I mean you!

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!