Rotisserie Chicken Corn Chowder

Chowder, Soup, Stew... Not quite the Eskimos with all those words for snow, but lots of words to describe this soup.  It actually qualifies as a chowder.  Which means there is cream (well, Half and Half at least) as the base for the soup.

Chowders also are traditionally served with those little oyster crackers.  Long time readers will smile when I say, "Who am I to argue with tradition", but in this case.  They go great with chowder!

Love this, thick and rich from the Half and Half; a hint of spice from a minced jalapeno, to make up for the cream, loaded with vegetables and plenty of cheese to make it good and hearty!

What's not to love.

So, with apologies to John, Bobbie and Teddy Kennedy -

Here's what I did to make my "Chowda"...

Rotisserie Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 2 TBS Olive Oil
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced
• 2 Stalks Celery, Chopped
• 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 Medium Jalapeno Pepper, minced
• 4 Cloves Garlic
• 1/2 Cup Thick Ham slice, cut into slivers 1/4 inch square, about 2 inches long
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 2 TBS Flour
• Salt and Pepper, a couple of pinches
• 1 Brick Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 Cup Half and Half
• 2 Cups Chicken from a Rotisserie Chicken (I used one of the Breast quarters)
• 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, Grated
• 1 Cup Frozen Corn, be sure to partially thaw under running HOT water
• To Taste Salt and Pepper (especially Pepper)

Cooking Directions

1. This was a two stage Crock Pot dish... Took about 6 hours for everything to mix, melt and mingle correctly. 4 Hours for the base and another couple of hours for the guts to cook...
2. In a large heavy bottomed frying pan, heat the Olive Oil, add the onions, celery and peppers and saute for about 5 minutes or until the onions soften and begin to turn translucent.
3. Add the garlic and saute for another 2 minutes
4. Move the vegetables to your crock pot and add the Chicken Stock
5. Add 2 TBS Flour to help thicken the soup and stir to completely mix.
6. Add the Ham slivers
7. Turn Crock Pot up to high and allow everything to heat up for about 30 minutes. Then add the Cream cheese and stir to melt and mix
8. Add the Half and Half, Season with Salt and Pepper,. Cover crock pot, lower to the medium setting and forget for 4 hours
9. After 4 hours, add the chicken and Cheddar Cheese, stir, season again with Salt and Pepper, Cover and forget for 2 hours
10. After 2 hours, add the thawed frozen corn, mix again, wait about 5 minutes for the corn to warm and serve
11. Garnish with Oyster Crackers, season with Salt and Pepper to taste (mostly pepper, this is best heavily peppered)
12. Serve HOT and enjoy!

I served this for dinner after a cold Fall day of lawn work.  Hearty and warming to the core... Perfect.

BUT... I had half of the soup left and I had taken more than half of the guts (the chicken, ham and vegetables), leaving a delicious cheesy base and about half of the "guts" for left overs.

SO... I diced up a couple of russet potatoes, dropped everything back into the crock pot over night (medium setting), and in the morning I had a potato chowder with a little more than hints of ham, chicken, corn and the base vegetables!

A bit unorthodox, but a wonderful breakfast!

So, yet again, a wonderful addition to my "52 Uses For a Rotisserie Chicken"! So many layers of flavors, perfect for colder weather... warms to the core!

And of course this is also a terrific addition to me list of "52 Recipes for Soup, Chowder and Chili". (work in progress, but I have a bunch posted already)

And as always, if you like this recipe and think you might want to give it a try, pin this to your Pinterest Board and be sure to follow me on Pinterest if you want to see the rest of my 52 Ideas!