Corn Chowder

It's actually chilly today! Yay! I'm even wearing jeans! Chilly weather makes me want to make soup. My friend, Kristen, is a huge fan of the crock pot. She talked about it so much that she talked me into buying one. Now I am also a loyal devotee of the crockpot. It is the best thing for those days when I have no time, especially when I am tutoring into the early evening. Today I may or may not be able to make dinner at dinner time. (You never really know with a baby, do you?) But I decided either way, a chill in the air meant soup. Here's my recipe for:

Easy, Healthy Corn Chowder

Whatever veggies you have on hand, especially those that are about to go bad (today I used carrots, broccoli, celery, red pepper) -- chopped
About 4 -5 medium potatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 box container of vegetable stock
1 can of cannellini beans, undrained (just throw the whole thing in)

2 bags of frozen corn
About 1/2 to 1 cup of milk

A few slices of bacon (about one per person)

Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Throw in all the chopped veggies, onion, potatoes, veggie stock and cannellini beans. (The beans add a little substance and a little protein and you don't taste them.) Cook it all day on low or for a few hours on high.
About an hour before you are going to eat, CAREFULLY use an immersion blender to blend all the ingredients into a thick soup.
Add the corn and milk. Stir it up and cook on low to heat through.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon.

Ladel into bowls, then crumble the bacon on top of each bowl. (It stays crispy this way and you get more bang for your buck.) Serve with warm bread. (Tonight we're having Trader Joe's corn bread mix. If you've never had it, it's delicious!)

By the way, my kids LOVE this. I hope yours do, too!