Ham, Potato, & Corn Chowder

HamPotatoandcornchowder

Ham, Potato, & Corn Chowder! This soup is a filling meal that is good for the soul! Hubby loves it so much it had to become a staple in our dinner rotation. I got this recipe from a dear friend, but there are many like it on Pinterest like this one from Like Mother Like Daughter.

You’ll need:

2 cups cooked ham, diced
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
5 1/2 tbsp butter, divided (1 1/2 & 4)
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced (I prefer to use baby carrots diced)
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 cups chicken broth
5 medium potatoes, diced
1 can corn
1/4 cup & 1 TBSP Flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Chives and shredded cheese to top

What to do:

In a large pot, melt 1 1/2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, sauté until tender.

Add chicken broth and potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste (I under salt a bit as ham adds salt). Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender. Stir in ham and corn.

Cook your bacon. I love to cook it in the oven. I cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay out my strips. I bake it at 400 degrees for about 20-25 min. I love that it will cook while I prepare the rest of the meal.20160520_184624.jpg

In separate sauce pan, melt 4 tbsp butter. Add flour and whisk until combined well. Slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a boil and cook until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add sour cream. 

Add this mixture to the broth and stir. Simmer a couple minutes until heated through. Serve topped with shredded cheese & bacon! Would also be yummy with some green onion! The leftovers of this are so good!!!!

Outstanding Sausage Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce!

Being 8 months pregnant, I’ve had constant cravings. Nothing weird or even odd combinations, but rather for specific foods. I went through a 2 week span of wanting lasagna. That soon morphed into a desire for desserts…hot fudge sundaes to be exact. My sweet husband has endured all the changes and even indulged me in the week of only fast food and eating out because I couldn’t stand the smells of cooking in the kitchen.

Although I’ve had a beastly heartburn problem lately, I still love my saucy pastas and spicy foods. I was so excited when I came across this pin. It was everything I wanted and then some. I started to follow this great blog, South Your Mouth written by Mandy Rivers. You can hear the southern in her writing and it makes me feel at home. Plus it doesn’t hurt that I can barely make it through reading a recipe without drooling.

This is my second time making this and my result is a bit different, but on purpose! The changes I made were due to wanting to eat this but not having her exact ingredients on hand at the time and I liked it so much I just went with it again. But isn’t that part of the fun of cooking? You can make alterations that you’d prefer or just to work with what you have! Next time I’m going to use cajun sausage! But trust me folks, this is so good! It fits all of the most important criteria: fast, easy, delicious, and better reheated! You can find the link to her recipe here, mine, with alterations, is below.

Sausage Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Sausage and tomato pasta final

 

8+ ounces penne pasta (or whatever you prefer)

12 oz smoked sausage

2 14-oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained well

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta per manufacturer’s instructions for al dente preparation then drain well.

2. I sliced the sausage and threw into a hot deep skillet, with a little water for a good browning while the pasta cooked.

If you use some other meat and need to drain fat or some of your water do so now after everything is browned and yummy.

20150318_172019

3. Add drained tomatoes, oregano, garlic powder and salt and stir well. Add cream and bring to a slight boil.

20150318_173552

20150318_173854 20150318_174130

4. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 (I usually do 10 or 12ish) minutes or until sauce is reduced and thickened. Add cheese a little at a time to blend it in.

5. Remove skillet from heat then add cooked pasta. Stir well to combine then serve.

20150318_180143 20150318_180159

UPDATE! Last night as I didn’t have the usual ingredients to make this, I substituted with wonderful results. I used small shells instead of penne, 1 can diced tomatoes with onion instead of 2, cheddar cheese instead of mozz, and added CAJUN seasoning!!!! SO SO GOOD! My leftovers for lunch today were so good I had to have seconds!