Corn chowder

Daytime temperatures are still fairly summer-like here, but I guess the cooler nights are making me think autumn. I suddenly find myself browsing through blogs and bookmarking more soup recipes than grill recipes. Other bloggers must be in the same situation because there are lots of yummy-sounding soup recipes out there these days. Here are a few on my Must-Make-Soon list:

White Bean and Chicken Chili/Soup from My Cooking Quest

Corn Chowder with Chorizo from Kit's Chow

Simply Recipes Tortilla Soup

French Onion Soup from Columbus Foodie

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Soup with Rosemary and Parmesan from Kalyn's Kitchen

Peter G.'s "Lazy" Bean Soup from Souvlaki for the Soul

Simple White Bean Soup from Jill at Simple Daily Recipes

I needed something to go with the Indonesian Steak Sandwiches I made the other day. I knew the kids would be leery of the sandwiches so I thought I'd go with something simple and kid-friendly: Corn Chowder. This is pretty much just a hodge-podge of ingredients I threw together at the last minute. I used frozen corn because I needed something on the table quickly but I'm sure fresh corn would be even better!

Quick Corn Chowder

Frozen corn
2 small potatoes, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
Bay leaf
salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock
Heavy cream (or half and half, or even milk)

Saute onion and celery until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients except for cream, and simmer until potatoes are soft. Once veggies are soft, add a touch of cream and stir. Remove from heat before soup boils. Serve chunky or use an immersion blender to puree the soup.