Summer Corn Chowder

This soup is creamy, smoky, sweet, and completely satisfying all at the same time. I love the taste of the bacon with the corn and tomatoes. Besides some chopping, it was also a pretty easy recipe to prepare. I couldn't find light cream so I just used whipping cream, about 1 3/4 c instead of the suggested 2 cups of light cream.

• 6 medium ears of corn
• 6 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium poblano, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small celery rib, finely chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 medium boiling potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 small bay leaf
• 2 cups light cream, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped parsley, for garnish

1. Working over a bowl, cut the corn kernels from the cobs at about half their depth. Then, using the back of the knife, scrape the cobs over the bowl to release all the "milk"; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, fry the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Crumble and reserve.
3. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the pan. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the poblano pepper, jalapeño and celery and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, salt, allspice, sugar, bay leaf and the reserved corn kernels and their "milk" and stir well. Cook over moderate heat until mixture begins to sizzle.
4. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Stir in the cream and milk and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and season with black pepper to taste. Ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with the crumbled bacon and parsley.

Source: http://food52.com/recipes/142-summer-corn-chowder

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
• 1 cup white hominy
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• crushed tortilla chips
• sliced avocado
• shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• chopped green onions

Directions

1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

Tilapia Corn Chowder

The hardest thin about making this soup is chopping everything up. Once you got that down, throw everything in the pot and viola- a wonderful soup! I ate it with some naan and a green salad. What a great summer meal.

Ingredients

• 3 slices bacon
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 leek, white part only, halved lengthwise, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
• 3 ears of corn
• 1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, (optional)

Directions

1. Chop bacon and cook in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
2. Add oil to the pan. Add celery, leek, salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables just begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and corn. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are just tender and the corn is cooked through, about 8 minutes
3. Stir in tilapia and thyme; return to a gentle simmer. Cook until the tilapia is cooked through, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
4. Stir in half-and-half, lemon juice and the reserved bacon. Garnish with chives, if using.

Source: eatingwell.com