Corn Chowder

My sister called me today around 11:00am. She said that she would be in town and wanted to visit Isaiah and me. Since it was cold and rainy, I thought I would quickly make some soup.

I had a corn chowder mix in the cupboard that someone had given to me last year for Christmas. I have avoided making it because I was against making chowder from a mix, but I was short on time so I pulled it out. I have been wanting to make corn chowder since the middle of August when I had a small cup of the best corn chowder ever (think creamy goodness), but the weather didn't call for it until today.

I love making soup and look for excuses to do so all of the time. I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Typically, I cut the veggies that I have chosen to put in the soup and saute them in the pot with olive oil and spices before adding anything else. This time, I added a few tablespoons of vegetable stock to the carrots, garlic, leeks and onions.

It was all pretty simple. Once the onions appeared translucent, I added water and the chowder mix to the pot. I let it cook for almost five minutes before adding frozen corn and frozen peppers. Then, I brought the soup to a boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes before serving.

The final product was a little bland. My sister added pepper and I added sour cream. I had never eaten corn chowder with sour cream until that day in August. It made this pre-mixed chowder delightful. I will never eat corn chowder without sour cream every again.

Ingredients:
Corn Chowder soup mix
6 cups water
3 tablespoons vegetable stock
1 yellow onion
1/2 stalk of leek
1 cup carrots
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peppers (red, yellow and orange)
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
Dried green onions
Spices to taste

Music: Nick Pitera - A Whole New World (YouTube)
Weather: 38-degrees (F) with sleet