Creamy corn and bacon chowder recipe

By five it's dark out, and corn chowder is the kind of thing that makes January dinner feel less grim. My mom made it in August when the ears came in three dozen at a time. Mine comes from the shelf, and nobody at my table can tell the difference once the bacon hits it. The corn still tastes like summer.

This one takes about forty minutes start to finish, feeds all six of us with bowls left over, and leans on a pantry I already own. The fresh version needs a farm stand. This version needs a can opener and a pot. On a school night that trade buys me the whole evening.

What does the work in this pot

Four things carry it, and here's the why on each.

• Freeze Dried Kernel Corn soaks up in five minutes and comes back sweet and plump. It's the whole point of the chowder, and it saves you shucking or defrosting a thing.
• Powdered Vitamin Milk makes the creamy base without a carton going sour in the door. One tablespoon to half a cup of water, mixed as you go, and it behaves just like the real thing at a simmer.
• Instant Vitamin Potato is my quiet thickener here. Instead of fussing with flour, a scoop pulls the broth together and adds body, the way real diced potato would but faster.
• Powdered Vitamin Butter starts the pot. One tablespoon powder with a half teaspoon of water softens into butter for cooking the celery and onion.

The bacon is fresh. Some things you just cook in a pan, and bacon is one of them.

Creamy corn and bacon chowder

Serves 8. About 40 minutes total, most of it hands-off simmering.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Freeze Dried Kernel Corn
• 6 slices fresh bacon, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 Tbsp Powdered Vitamin Butter plus 1 tsp water (softened per label)
• 1/2 cup Instant Vitamin Potato powder
• 4 Tbsp Powdered Vitamin Milk plus 2 cups water (mixed per label)
• 4 cups water or chicken broth
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 scallions (green onion), sliced thin, for topping

Instructions:

1. Rehydrate everything shelf-stable. Soak the 2 cups Freeze Dried Kernel Corn in warm water for 5 minutes, then drain thoroughly. Mix 4 Tbsp Powdered Vitamin Milk with 2 cups water and set aside. Stir 2 Tbsp Powdered Vitamin Butter with 1 tsp water into a soft butter.
2. Cook the bacon. In a large pot over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon 6 to 8 minutes until crisp. Scoop it out onto a paper towel and leave about a tablespoon of the fat in the pot.
3. Soften the vegetables. Add the softened butter, then the onion and celery. Cook 5 minutes until they go soft and the onion turns clear.
4. Build the broth. Pour in the 4 cups water or broth, add the salt and pepper, and bring to a low simmer.
5. Thicken it. Whisk in the 1/2 cup Instant Vitamin Potato powder a little at a time so it doesn't clump. This is the one spot to pay attention. Whisk steady and it comes together smooth in a minute.
6. Add corn and milk. Stir in the drained corn and the prepared milk. Simmer gently 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the chowder thickens and the corn is tender.
7. Finish. Taste and add salt. Ladle into bowls, top with the crisp bacon and sliced scallions, and serve hot.

A few things I've learned making this

• Make it ahead and it thickens overnight in the fridge. Loosen it with a splash of water when you reheat.
• It freezes fine for a month. Cool it fully, freeze half in a bag laid flat, and you've got a second dinner waiting.
• For a heartier pot, stir in shredded cooked chicken or a handful of diced ham with the corn.
• A pinch of smoked paprika or a few dashes of hot sauce at the end wakes the whole thing up.

Keep two cans on the shelf

The Freeze Dried Kernel Corn does the heavy lifting, and the bacon does the rest. My eleven year old went back for a second bowl. The five year old ate the bacon off the top and called it dinner, which around here counts for something. Buy two cans of the corn and keep them on the shelf. That's a chowder you can put on the stove any night you need one.