Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder

Since winter began this year, it seems as though we've been making at least one soup recipe per week. In addition, we've recently decided to reduce how often we eat out -- we're trying for one meal per week.

So with those patterns in mind, we found Healthy Cooking's recipe for Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder quite a delectable find. Soup and stew recipes are great because, when cooking for two, you can make those recipes last for three meals per week. Or you could double the recipe and store half of it in the freezer. (Most recipes would certainly work, but perhaps not all.)

As always, we took the recipe from the magazine's March 2009 issue and slightly adapted it to our tastes (and the fact that we didn't have fresh thyme in the home).

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder
4 slices chopped and cooked bacon
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 12-ounce can 2% evaporated milk
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, well drained
1 14.75-ounce can cream-style corn
2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

First off, if you did not buy a rotisserie chicken (we did not buy one), then cook the chicken in a skillet; set aside and let rest.

In a large stock pot, cook the chopped bacon until it's slightly brown, but not crisp. Then add the onions, celery, red peppers and garlic. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften.\
Add flour and mix well. Stir in chicken broth and evaporated milk. Bring mixture to a gentle boil until soup thickens slightly.


Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.


The hot sauce we added gave the soup a nice finish at each bite. We also added a bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top, which also provided a nice texture to the soup. Overall, it's definitely a recipe to make again.