Baby, it’s cold outside!
Or at least it’s cold enough to warrant making something as decadently creamy and delicious as chowdah! Since we maintain a fairly seafood-free household, the first thing that popped into my head was chicken corn chowder, which I thought would pair perfectly with the wet and chilly weather we’ve been having.

Thyme, rosemary, carrots, celery, onion

Let the chicken simmer 20-30 minutes.
I’ve only used chicken stock in one recipe before and I really didn’t enjoy the outcome so I thought I’d just poach the chicken in water with some herbs and veggies along with a chicken bouillon cube. Little fun fact: I once dated a guy who convinced me chicken bouillon (which I had never seen before) was in fact chicken excrement. I was young and he was a jerk-a-saurus rex, but I digress…

Mise-en-place de chowdah.

In the pan with some buttah.
I cut 3 stalks celery, 4 ears corn, 2 potatoes, 1 jalapeño and 4 cloves garlic (because I’m afraid of vampires). All of this goes into a pan or pot on medium heat until the onions are cooked through.
Meanwhile, the chicken should be finished cooking by now, so remove it from the pot and set it aside until it’s cool enough to shred. While it’s cooling, strain the poaching liquid and add it to the potatoes, corn and veggies. Let the potatoes cook in the broth until they are fork tender before adding the cream and chicken:

Let it simmer a few minutes and serve!

It’s like a hug from the inside.
The amount of liquid to use depends on how thick and creamy you’d like your chowder to be. I used a 2:1-ish ratio of broth to cream, but I think it’s all personal preference. One woman’s “recipe-gone-wrong” is another woman’s “recipe-gone-even-better-than-expected.” It’s all perspective. 🙂
What’s your favorite kind of chowder?