Smoky Corn & Chicken Chowder

I love soup.  I am perfectly happy eating soup on a warm summer day.  I do understand however that not everyone thinks hot soup in the summertime is a great idea.  My husband is one of those people.  Knowing what the answer would probably be, I asked Raymond a couple of weeks ago if he is okay eating soup when it is warm outside.  His reply, "I like soup when the weather cools down".  I took that as an opportunity to make soup this weekend as the high on Sunday was 85. I figured since that was 16 degree's cooler than Thursday, it should classify as "cool".  This soup turned out so good that I am writing this post right after I finished my bowl and Raymond is currently serving himself a second bowl.  I will take that as a sign that it is now cool enough for soup and will be making it more often now.  :)

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, diced

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 c. red bell pepper, diced

1 c. celery

1 1/4 tsp thyme

2 tbs flour

2 c. potatoes, diced

4 1/2 c. fresh corn, shucked

3 c. chicken stock

2 c. milk

1/4 c. cream or half and half

3/8 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp liquid smoke

2 chicken breasts

1/3 c. BBQ Sauce

Directions

Place chicken breasts into a ziplock and add BBQ sauce.  Let sit for 40-45 minutes, turning once.

Cook bacon in medium dutch oven.  I used a 3.5 quart and it was JUST big enough.

Once bacon is cooked, add the onions, peppers, celery and thyme and cook until soft. 

Add the garlic and cook for about a minute or until fragrant.

Add the flour and stir/whisk until the flour turns brown and starts to smell nutty (1-2 min).

Add the chicken stock, potatoes, and corn and bring to boil, then reduce and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, grill chicken breasts, shred the meat, and then add to the soup.

Add salt, white and black pepper, and liquid smoke.

Simmer for another 5 minutes, then add the cream/h&h, milk, and simmer until warm.

Serve with some nice crusty bread...

...I highly recommend this no-knead sourdough bread...

...and Enjoy!  :)

We both really enjoyed this soup and if I see you this week, be prepared, because I will probably try to convince you that you need to make it as soon as possible.  :)

Have a great week!  And make this soup...seriously, you should really make this tonight!

Nutritional Information: Makes about 8 - 1 1/2 cup servings.  Calories - 262.3, Fat - 5.9g, Sodium - 590.7mg, Potassium - 860.4mg Total Carbohydrate - 33.3g, Dietary Fiber - 4.6g, Sugars - 7.2g, Protein - 21.7g