Chicken, Corn & Cheddar Chowder

Chicken, Corn and Cheddar Chowder with Roll

That's right damn it.  A mere chicken & corn chowder isn't good enough for me, I had to take it to the next level and add me some cheddar.  As my good friend Bobcat says, "Everything is better with cheese."

I also decided that I didn't like the concept of using canned creamed corn in this recipe as I wanted to maintain ingredient control (no extra chemicals I could easily avoid), so I added in the creamed corn assembly as well.  Anyway, this is really good soup that is nice and thick and would be great after spending an afternoon out in the cold...

Let's light this candle.

Chicken Corn & Cheddar Chowder

Carry your butt to the store (or pull this stuff out) and get:

Olive Oil
1 package (10 oz or so) corn kernels (thawed if frozen, or go with drained from a can)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 Tablespoon Sugar
Some salt
Some black pepper
5 Tablespoons butter, divided
4 1/2 cups milk, divided
4 Tablespoons flour, divided
Some grated parmesan cheese (small handful)
About 3/4 cup chopped celery
About 3/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 pound chicken breasts (boneless)
4 Tablespoons chopped mild green chilies (One of those tiny cans)
About 1 1/2 cups of those French Fried Onions they put in that green bean casserole every T-Giving
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided.

Okay, we'll start with the chicken.  Chop it up into bite-sized pieces and cook it up, in a large pot, in a little of the olive oil and maybe a little salt and pepper until it is about 80% done.  Pull out the chicken and set it aside.

In a skillet, over medium heat, combine the corn, 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, sugar, about 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, a bit of black pepper and 1 tablespoon of butter.  While that starts to heat up, whisk together 1/2 a cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of flour then stir that into the corn mixture.  Keep cooking and stirring until the mixture thickens up a bit and the corn is cooked through.  Then stir in a handful of parmesan cheese and remove from the heat once it is melted.  Set the skillet aside for a bit (it will thicken up a bit and congeal, not to worry).

Now, I am assuming you already chopped up the red pepper and celery.  If not, do it now slacker.  Once that is done, melt the rest of the butter in the big-ass soup pot and saute' the celery and peppers over medium-high heat until tender, but they still have a crunch.  We're probably talking 3 or 4 minutes.  Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of flour over the veggies and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly and scraping the dried stuff off the bottom of the pot.

Stir in the milk and the creamed corn you previously made.  Bring the temperature up to a good simmer and dump in the chicken and the chilies.  Let the pot return to a good simmer or a boil and then add in about 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar, a handful at a time, and stir it in until melted.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or so, until thickened.  Play with the salt and pepper a bit.  I also find that a splash of sherry really can take this soup over the top, but that is a personal preference (also, some low-sodium soy sauce can add some nice layers to the flavor).

Now, toss in about 1 cup of those french fried onions and stir them in.  Serve the soup with some shredded cheddar and some more of the onions sprinkled on top.  I also like it with a splash of Cholula or Frank's hot sauce on top.  We also discovered that the Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls go really well with this soup.

Hope you like it.  If not, well that just means more for me.

All told, this took about an hour to make, including prep.  At the end of it all I had about 6 large servings (the stuff is filling though, so it might be more like 8 or so servings).  Good stuff, enjoy.