The other evening I was sick of being in the kitchen. Let me explain. I had been baking Christmas cookies and making fudge (recipes coming) all day! And here it was 6:30 and I hadn’t even thought about what I was going to fix for dinner. Now you know, there are just times when even going out to dinner seems too onerous. I would have had to put on my face (makeup) and change my clothes, and like I said – way to arduous. So I decided some kind of soup was exactly what we needed.

I opened the refrigerator door and there before me was the leftover bacon I had fried that morning for breakfast. Well then, how about some kind of chowder? But what goes well with bacon? Corn goes with bacon, and cheese goes with corn. Ah ha – a plan was hatched.

So because many of my soups start with a mirepoix, I diced up some onion, celery, and carrot and threw them in the pot. (Got to start somewhere, right?) After that all the other ingredients just seemed to fall into place.

The soup turned out really good, and it was fast and easy to prepare. Served with crackers, it was the ideal end to a long day of playing with too much flour, butter, and chocolate. (The before dinner martini didn’t hurt either. Thank you Mr. C.)

• 4 slices lean, thick-cut bacon, diced
• 1 T. butter
• ½ c. chopped onion
• ½ c. chopped celery
• ½ c. shredded carrot
• 2 c. chicken broth
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. dried thyme
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained 
• 2 c. whole milk
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 2 c. grated sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• oyster crackers, opt.  

In a large covered soup pot, fry diced bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Add butter to the pan (don’t remove bacon fat) and add the onion, celery, and carrot. Cook just until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, salt, pepper, and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the corn and the milk that has been whisked together with the cornstarch. Slowly bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the reserved bacon and simmer until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Adjust seasonings. Serve with oyster crackers on the side.