Soups, Stews & Chilies

Now that the winter-ish weather is setting in and everyone seems to be getting cold, it's the perfect time to make soup! Soup is the ultimate cold weather food and it's DELICIOUS! My mom bought this cookbook (although it looks more like a magazine) called "Soups, Stews & Chilies" and it has a ton of awesome recipes to cure the winter chill. We like them so much we make a new one at least once a week. They even recommend a great side dish for each soup. I will share with you my favorite recipe (so far) below, but if you want to buy the whole book, you can find it here! Enjoy!

Cheese & Corn Chowder
(prep time: about 1 hour)

Saute; sweat:
5 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. olive oil
2 cups diced onions
1 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 t. minced fresh thyme
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. cayenne
1/4 t. ground tumeric

Add; garnish with:
6 cups chicken broth
1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled, diced
8 ears fresh corn, shucked, trimmed (4-5 cups kernels, may use frozen corn)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup white cheddar, shredded
2 oz. cream cheese
Minced fresh chives

Saute bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, 5 minutes; drain on a paper towel-lined sheet and set aside. Pour off drippings, wipe out pot with a paper towel, and return to burner. Melt butter with oil, add onion and celery, and sweat until soft, 7-8 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, thyme, cayenne, and tumeric, cook 2 minutes.
Add broth, potatoes, and corn kernels. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes. Stir in cheeses and reserved bacon; simmer until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Garnish with chives.