Easy Corn and Bacon Chowder

Some days it's just necessary to take it easy.  

Yesterday was one of those days for me. And I knew I wanted soup. Or stew. Or chowder.  Ya know, some kind of dish in the "soup" neighborhood. 

Yesterday's mood was tired with a large side order of lazy.

Yes, the downside to wanting any of those dishes was that, under no circumstances, was I interested in a bunch of effort to make any of them. I was game for a little bit of effort, but definitely not a whole, big bunch of it.  

It's been quite a busy week around here and I'm so ready for no alarm clock this weekend. (oh wait, we have soccer playing children. Nevermind...)

So, when I peeked into my pantry, the first thing I saw was the collection of canned vegetables that we keep around for occasions just like this one. 
Okay, so they're actually meant for weeknights that are short on time, but that's just a technicality, really. Right? 
A low-energy weekday is basically crisis situation too, if you think about it. 

I love all kinds of soup and it's variations too, but a creamy chowder is my favorite guilty pleasure. 
I'm so happy I had the bare essentials around to make this easy corn and bacon chowder. If i had some on hand, I would have used some chopped celery in the dish and stirred in some shredded cheddar cheese at the very end.
Some other day, when I'm feeling a bit more frisky, I'll make this again with fresh corn, right off of the cob. 
But, as it was yesterday, this dish sure hit the spot. 

Easy Corn and Bacon Chowder

• 5 pieces of bacon, fried crisp and chopped into bits
• 2 tablespoon of reserved bacon drippings or another cooking oil
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup onion,finely chopped
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (15 oz) cream-style corn
• 1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1/4 cup of fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, coarsely chopped or 1/2 tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar 
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 cup milk)

1. In a mid-size Dutch oven, sauté the bell pepper, onion and potato in the bacon drippings (or other oil) for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until most of the flour incorporated with the vegetables. Stir in the chicken broth. 
2. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the diced potato is tender. Add both cans of corn, bacon bits, parsley, salt, pepper. Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for at least another 15-20 minutes. 
3. Stir in the sugar and cream. Bring the chowder back just to a boil and then turn off the heat.  
4. Serve hot and enjoy!