Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

I have been making this soup almost as long as I've been married and it's one of my kids' favorite meals. I made it for dinner last night and when my 2 older girls saw it on the stove they got all excited and said "Potato cheese soup? Oh YAY mom!!!" The funny thing is, this is the easiest, quickest, dinner ever. This takes about 25 minutes to put on the table, less time than it would take you to drive through a crowded drive thru and bring home some over-priced, unhealthy fast food. This is my go-to staple dinner on crazy weeknights. Think Tuesday night: 6 year old has ballet, 10 year old has swim team, 11 year old has dive team, and 13 year old has basketball. Seriously, that's my Tuesday and this is what I served for dinner!! And did I mention it's delicious? You'll be surprised at how yummy this is, I promise!

Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

Print Recipe

2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Real Bacon Bits or chopped Cooked Ham (if I use ham I usually add 1 cup)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
6-8 small-medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, chopped. (these potatoes are so yummy and buttery that I just leave the peels on, just chop and throw in your soup--so easy!)
3 1/2 cups Water **
3 1/2 teaspoons Chicken Bouillon powder
1 14 oz. can Corn, drained
1 14 oz. can creamed Corn, undrained. You want the creamy corn and liquid.
1 12 oz. can Evaporated Milk
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheese, I use cheddar or a cheddar-Monterrey jack blend

Extra cheese, bacon, and chili powder for sprinkling on bowls, optional. Also, variation: If I have fresh broccoli on hand, I often chop some up (about 2 cups) and add it with the potatoes to simmer.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add onions and bacon bits. Sprinkle with pepper. Saute for about 3-5 minutes while you chop your potatoes. Add chopped potatoes. Pour water over potatoes, but you don't want to completely cover them. It's ok if some of your potatoes are poking out of the top of the water. So you will use roughly **3 1/2 cups water, you may use a little more or less. Add chicken bouillon powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, til potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork. Add drained corn and entire can of creamed corn. Stir. Add evaporated milk and cheese, stir in til cheese is melted and blended in. Serve warm in bowls. We like to put a little chili powder, extra cheese, and bacon on this soup, yummy!

These lovely soup photos were brought to you courtesy of my 13 year old son's I-Pod. And since I had to upload his photos on my computer, I was privileged to see some of the choice pics/images he had. Here are 2 of of my favorites. 13 year old boys, what more can I say? At least he's pretending to not like girls:

And I was disturbed when my husband laughed out loud at this: