Friday, October 3, 2008

So Long Summertime


Summer is officially over, and it has been for a few weeks now, it's just that I've been in denial, as usual. The fall wakeup call usually comes when I realize that it's dark outside by the time I've finished making dinner, really dark, and this makes me a little depressed, so I hang on to every morsel of summer bits that I can, like frozen silver queen corn from my mom and dad's garden.

Summery sweet corn, smoky bacon, and an autumn-esque milky warm broth is the perfect seasonal soup marriage, and a good way to get inventive with leftover chicken in my case. Even though soup recipes are never to be followed exactly, here is a place to start:

Ingredients:
A few cooked chicken breasts, or any leftover chicken, pulled (about 2 cups)
4 ears fresh corn, removed from the cob (this is kind of a pain in the butt, but you simply cannot use canned corn, frozen maybe, maybe, but i wouldn't recommend it, just drink a glass of wine and it will be ok)
1/2 pkg or a little more thick cut bacon, diced
1 box organic low sodium chicken broth
1 chopped onion
2 stalks of celery chopped
1 medium potato peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 or 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp olive oil or so
salt
pepper

Add olive oil to the pan and cook the bacon til just starting to crisp. Scoop the bacon out and leave all the lovely bacon juices in the pan, and set aside. Add celery and onions to the pan. Reduce the heat and cook on med-low while the veg softens, about 6 to 10 mins. Add the potatoes, corn, and thyme. Continue to cook until onions are fully soft, about 6 to 10 more minutes.

Add a full box of organic low sodium chicken broth. Bring it to a simmer over med-high heat, and then turn it down and simmer for about another 10 mins. until the potatoes are tender. Add the bacon back to the mixture, and then add the cream and chicken. Return to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper. Serve it up with a green salad, some crusty bread and your favorite wine, if you have any left :) Enjoy!

Maybe fall isn't so scary after all.

You may want to double-up on this recipe. We ate nearly all of it since it was so dang delicious, and my hubby is a very big boy.

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