Potato and Corn Chowder

(picture compliments of Weight Watchers)

Guys.  I made this soup tonight and it was DELISH.  Find yourself some fresh summer corn and make this dish!  It's got great texture, sweetness from the corn, a hint of heat, and it's hearty- but still a perfect soup for summer.  Serve with some sweet cornbread and a dollop of sour cream and chives. You won't be sorry.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• Turkey bacon (4-5 slices, chopped)
• 1 russet potato, chopped
• 4 ears summer corn (I used both white and yellow)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery heart, chopped
• Milk (1/2 C to 1 C)
• Chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 C white wine (optional)
• Sriracha (or any other hot sauce you have)

Directions:

• Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees and throw your shucked corn on a baking sheet to roast.  While the corn roasts, chop your veg
• In a stock pot and with a touch of olive oil, sautee your bacon over medium heat until crispy (as crispy as turkey bacon gets, I guess)
• Add your veg and add a dash of salt, allowing them to sweat
• Cover the lid of the pot to allow the vegetables to become tender
• Once tender, deglaze the pan with the white wine (or stock, instead)
• Add your stock and allow soup to come to a strong simmer
• Check your corn- there should be some brown spots
• Carefully, cut the kernels off the cob (you could also just throw a bag of frozen corn kernels and roast them I suppose)
• Add the corn to the pot and simmer for a few minutes (It will probably need a bit more salt- turkey bacon doesn't have near the amount of salt that regular bacon does, so you'll need to add some)
• Add your milk until desired creaminess and continue to simmer for a couple minutes
• Stir in a couple swigs of sriracha and let the flavors merry for 15 minutes before you serve.
• If you want your soup the be thick, use an immersion blender to blend half of it (or stick half of it in a blender)

Deliciously satisfying- the sweet corn not only provides sweetness (obviously) but also a wonderful texture.  There's a lot of flavor in this simple soup and it's SUPER easy to make!  

Enjoy!