Chicken Corn Chowder

I made this soup at least once a year, and its my boyfriend's favorite. You can adjust the amount of cream vs milk you use to make a creamier soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of chicken stock
• 3 cups of milk product - use all milk for a lighter soup but avoid skim milk if you can. Replace all or some of the milk with cream if you want a heavier soup. I usually do 2 cups of milk, and 1 cup of cream. 
• 2 strips of bacon, cut into pieces
• 2 cups of corn, fresh or frozen
• 1 large chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 chopped medium onion
• 1 cup of cubed potatoes (I use red skins, use whatever you have on hand)
• 1 pound of cooked chopped chicken
• 1-2 diced jalapeños - depending on how spicy you want your soup
• 1 anaheim chili, seeded and quartered
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large soup pot, cook the bacon until done, remove the bacon and all but one tablespoon of the fat.
2. Over medium heat cook the bell pepper, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, and jalapeños in the bacon fat and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
3. While your vegetables are cooking, roast your corn and cumin under the broiler for 5 minutes, or until the born is slightly charred.
4. Add milk, chicken stock, corn, bay leaf, anaheim chili, and bacon.
5. Turn up the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for at least an hour, and then add your chicken.
6. When you're ready to serve your soup, remove the anaheim chili and the bay leaf.

Cauliflower Soup

I'm a huge fan of soups that taste like they're full of heavy cream, but actually aren't. This soup has a ton of veggie and garlic-y goodness and is very filling.

Ingredients
1 Cauliflower head, cut from the crown into florets
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1 inch cubes
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup of light cream or whole milk
1 cup of milk (you can use whatever milk you like, I used unsweeted almond milk)
3/4 cup of parmaesan cheese
2 tablespoons oil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, place the cauliflower florets, about a quarter of your chopped onion, and smashed garlic cloves. Set the pot to simmer until the cauliflower is soft.

2. While the cauliflower cooks, put potatoes in a pot to boil until they are fork-tender.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan. Add onions, carrots, salt and pepper, and saute until tender. 

4. Once all the vegetables are cooked you can begin to puree them all together. In a food processor add your cooked vegetables, garlic, potatoes, along with cream and milk, mix until smooth. Depending on the size of your processor you may have to do this step in batches.

5. Once you have a mixture that looks a lot like smooth mashed potatoes, you can transfer everything to your large sauce pot, add the vegetable broth, stir until combined, and add the bay leaf, and cheese.

6. Simmer covered on low heat for an hour, then taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning to your liking.