Creamy Bacon & Ham Corn Chowder.

The weather put me in the mood for corn chowder but in order to make it a little more hearty, I added ham and mushrooms.  I cut the potatoes small so the would cook fast, brought it to a boil on the stove top, put it in the slow cooker on high for an hour and finished the last 20 minutes on the stove top again. It took just about an hour and a half instead of 5  hours mentioned in the recipe. The potatoes and mushrooms were the only things that really needed cooking anyway.  If I had let it go any longer the potatoes would have started to break down and thicken the chowder and I liked it better like this.

  Slow Cooker: Creamy Bacon Corn Chowder

 15 mins    5 hours      5 hours 15 mins   Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large carrots, chopped

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 4 potatoes, chopped

• 2 14-16oz cans of corn (drained) OR one small 10-12oz bag of frozen corn

• 2 14-16oz cans of creamed corn

• 4 cups of water OR chicken broth

• 1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

• ½ teaspoon thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• salt & pepper to taste

• 1 12oz can of evaporated milk

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons of butter (optional)

Instructions

1 Place everything except for the evaporated milk, cornstarch and butter or margarine into the slow cooker.

2 Add just enough water or chicken stock to cover the ingredients.

3 Cook on high 5 hours or low 7-8 hours until vegetables are softened.

4 Combine cornstarch and evaporated milk. Stir into slow cooker along with butter 30 minutes before serving,

5 Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.