Pumped up Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 lb smoked chicken and habanero sausage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 (14 ounce) cans creamed corn
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen corn (off the cob)
• 6 cups chicken broth or stock
• 1 cup milk or cream
• 1 bay leaf or 1/2 teaspoon of crushed bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 pinch salt
• black pepper

Directions

1. 1

   Slice sausages lengthwise then cut crosswise into bite-size pieces (I remove the casings on mine but you don’t have to do that).

2. 2

   In a tall stockpot, on high heat, lightly brown sausage in 2 table spoons of olive oil for about 3 minutes to extract the flavors.

3. 3

   Add onion, celery, red bell pepper, carrots and a pinch of salt to the sausage and cook on med/high heat, stirring frequently, until the onions are transparent (do not let the onions get brown). Add in the bay leaf, basil, and black pepper at this point so that the spices have time to mingle.

4. 4

   Add in the chicken stock, frozen corn, and creamed corn. Once soup comes back to a boil, turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes – stir occasionally.

5. 5

   Add in milk (or cream) and simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes.

6. 6

   Check to make sure the carrots are cooked, if the carrots are cooked then turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes then serve and enjoy!

7. 7

   Other veggies can be added if you have leftovers such as potato, green beans, etc work great in this soup. Also, if a thicker consistency is desired, make a roux and add to soup at the last step when the milk goes inches If you like more heat, add a few splashes of habenero pepper sauce at the end.

8. 8

   This soup is great the next day, if it lasts that long :).