Bacon Corn Chowder

I saw this recipe on cookinglight.com and was immediately drawn to it. Why, might you ask? Basically because it has my 3 favorite things in the world...bacon, corn and cheese. I did make a few changes however, the most important to note was the increase of the amount of bacon called for. 2 pieces of bacon for 6 servings? Come on. I used a slice of bacon/serving. I taste tested this last night and while I thought it was awesome, I couldn't really taste the cheddar cheese. I'm not super crazy about the idea of adding more but I might actually just top each serving with the cheese to see if that adds to the taste. If not, I will just omit it next time. I also prefer a chunkier soup so I didn't blend part of the corn and milk, as the original recipe called for. If you prefer less chunk, blend 1 bag of corn and 1 cup of milk together and add in once the peppers, onion and corn have been sauteed.

Bacon Corn Chowder

Serves 6 (about 1 cup/serving)

Ingredients:

6 bacon slices
1/2 chopped onion

1 yellow pepper, chopped
2 (16-ounce) packages frozen baby gold and white corn, thawed and divided
2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
3/4 cup reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble and set aside. Add onion, pepper and 1 package corn to drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in milk, second bag of corn, salt, black pepper, and cheese. Cook over medium heat (do not boil), stirring constantly, until cheese melts. Add in reserved crumbled bacon and stir to combine. Sprinkle with additional black pepper, if desired.