So here it is! My first slow-cooker recipe that I’ve decided to share with you all. Not only is it fast and easy to make but it is incredibly delicious and will last you for days, developing more and more flavorful with each hour.
The first time I tried this corn chowder Devin’s mom made it for us during one of our visits from college. It was so damn good that we had her make more, baggy and freeze it for us so that we could take it back to school. It was a win-win because one, I didn’t have to cook for days and two, it was the best meal we had eaten in months. Yes, college was a rough time in terms of culinary success!
Since then, I’ve been trying to replicate her recipe on my own. I’m not exactly sure why I didn’t just ask her. Maybe I was trying to prove to myself that if I could replicate this dish, I’ve reached her level of cooking. Many times I wasn’t even close but I think this time I’ve finally done it! I’ve finally came close!
But the one thing that I decided to do differently than her way is to use the slow-cooker. I bought one of these bad boys right after college for the same reason most people buy them: to cook something delicious that tastes like I slaved over it for hours and days but really I just put everything in the pot, turned it on, sat down and binge watched Orange Is The New Black. Then voilà! The dish is done!
It’s like magic, really. Dinner can be preparing itself while you go about your day, run your errands, do what you got to do and STILL eat a bomb-ass home-cooked meal. I personally wouldn’t actually leave the house because I am terrified of something happening while I’m out but I’m happy that I can at least get through washday without having to worry about cooking later.
The only bit of effort I would say is that you have to cook the bacon-onion-garlic-jalapeno goodness before adding it to the slow-cooker. But you know what I say, you can do whatever the hell you want and skip that part. I would just suggest that you don’t put raw bacon in there because, I mean, who likes boiled bacon? Just the veggies will do.
And one more note: This is probably the first dish that I’ve posted so far that you can make completely vegan! Without compromising flavor! Just substitute the half and half for coconut milk and of course 86 the bacon and chicken and you’re golden!
- 4-6 slices of bacon
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup 2 jalapenos, sliced or chopped
- 6-8 small red potatoes, cut into quarters
- 1 can whole corn kernels
- 1 can creamed corn
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into strips
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup half and half
Instructions- Cook bacon in a medium sized pan until crispy then remove from pan. It should yield about 1 tbsp of oil. Add flour one tbsp at a time and whisk until creamy. Add in onions, garlic and jalapenos and cook for 4 minutes.
- Add onion, garlic, jalapeno and remaining ingredents except half and half to slow cooker. Stir ingredients together then cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- During the last 30 mins of cooking shred chicken into pieces, add it back to chowder and stir in half and half.
- Chop bacon and serve on top of chowder.
DetailsPrep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 6-8 servings - 1 tsp dried parsley