Chow Down, Potato and Corn Chowder with Basil

I Love soup!! Even when it's 90 degrees outside!! This soup was really easy. I was looking in my fridge for dinner ideas and I saw a container full of corn, that I had made the night before and forgot to serve...yes I do that alot. Then I saw some red potatoes and onion and a ton of different breads that we had used 2 nights before when we had a fondue night. So I decided to make some kind of chowder, and the cooking began. About 45 mins later dinner was ready to serve! Annie loved it she ate 2 bowls, the crutons were the best part, no wait the soup, no.. the avocado? Ok, you can decide. It was super easy, and if you follow the cooking process, you don't have to use corn and potatoes, use broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, whatever! Be creative and have fun! Yummy ripe avocados!! Mmmmm so good!
Look at those honking crutons!!! So good when they soaked up the soup!


The Recipes

Potato and Corn Chowder with Basil

1/2 med onion minced

1 clove garlic minced

2 Tbs. basil infused oil

32 oz. chicken stock

1/2 c. white wine-no sipping

1/8 c. flour

2 c. red skinned potatoes med dice w/skin on

1 bay leaf

1 lb. corn -fresh or frozen I mixed white and yellow for multi color purposes

1/4 c. fresh basil rough chopped or 2 tsp. dried basil - I didn't have any fresh so I used dried

1 c. milk warmed

1/2 c. heavy cream warmed- I just mixed it with the milk then heated it

1/2 avocado sliced-optional

2 Tbs. crumbled bacon

Heat oil in stock pot saute onion and garlic until soft but not browned. Add flour to make a roux cook slowly for about 4 mins do not brown. Add Stock, bring to a boil stir to make sure it is smooth. Add the wine-hiccup! Add potatoes and bay leaf, simmer until potatoes are tender. Add corn and basil return to a simmer. Stir in warmed milk and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Avocado, bacon, and crutons. Eat.

Seasoned Crutons

Cube desired amount of bread. I used seasoned french breads and foccacia bread, and bread with cheddar cheese baked into it. Drizzle with basil oil or regular olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat frying pan and toss in bread and stir until golden. I'm sure you can bake/broil these in the oven too and they would turn out just fine.