Maine Corn Chowder – Feeds 8 for $12

This corn chowder is SO easy to make, takes 15 minutes to prep, serves eight for only $12 and tastes great! I found this slow cooker recipe in a new cookbook my friend gifted me with at Christmas. It’s called #SlowCooker Sunday by T-Mobile CEO John Legere, with all net proceeds from the book going to feedingamerica.com. 

This is delicious as written and also easy to adjust for your own personal taste. We personally like things a bit spicy and I have a weird “texture” thing when it comes to meats so the second time I made this I changed it up just a bit. In the summer, when fresh corn is plentiful and super affordable, I will sub fresh corn kernels for the canned corn. 

Here’s the original recipe, which is great as is…

MAINE CORN CHOWDER

(Recipe Adapted From: themagicalslowcooker.com)

Prep Time: 10 minutes              Cook Time: 8 hours in slow cooker                    Serves: 8 for approx. $11.98

INGREDIENTS –

32 ounces chicken broth

1 (15-ounce) can cream-style corn

1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn

4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), diced

1/2 cup white onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

16 ounces bacon, sliced, cooked and drained

1 cup heavy cream

STEPS –

Add everything except the cream into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. When the cooking time is done, stir in the cream. Add salt, to taste, if needed. Serve and enjoy!

MY VERSION – 

I try to toss in added veggies to any dish whenever I can so I included 1/2 cup each of diced carrots and celery. I seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and then added a pinch more. I also used about 3 teaspoons of Kosher salt at the end and garnished with some fresh thyme leaves.

The main thing I changed, which has to do with my “texture” issues with meat, was I only added a few strips of cooked and sliced bacon at the start and added the remainder of the cooked bacon at the end, as more of a garnish. I just didn’t like the way the bacon cooked for 8 hours in the slow cooker which made it almost raw looking and chewy. But that’s just me. 

Pricing…

Pricing can vary depending on sales. When I made this I found canned corn on sale for 50 cents, bacon for $3.99 and red bell peppers for 99 cents each. Gluten free anything will typically cost more. I found GF broth on sale for $2.26. If you don’t have to use the gluten free version, you’ll save even more money. You can also make your own but I was feeling lazy and didn’t have any in the freezer.