home alone with corn chowder

My hubby has been gone every night this week. I really miss him when he is not home but it does give me an opportunity to get a lot of stuff done. I made 2 ragdolls... well, 1 and 1/2 ragdolls... well, not really since I have no brown thread, I cannot put the hair on. So, that's 1 ragdoll with no hair or face since the placement of the hair determines where the face goes. Then the other doll is made but has no clothing... so that's ummm... well, altogether I guess it equals 3/4 of a doll!

Last night, I was going to finish the ragdoll clothing but I opened the refrigerator to make dinner and was appalled at how gross it was inside there. It has glass shelves and this nice clear drawers but it is was all finger printy and there was a small maple syrup spill at some point but no clean up so I got to work. I tool everything out and washed it all down. It looks so pretty. I then proceeded to clean all the cabinets, counter tops and the floor. The kitchen rugs went into the washer (amazing how much cooler my basement is than the kitchen!).

Anyway, I did manage to make dinner! Chicken corn chowder as promised. I also had to make the beagles some chicken and rice since my Miss Prissy Pants girl beagle was little sick to her tummy last night. So, it was a busy night.

Chicken and corn chowder
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts - grilled or seared and baked. Cooked some way you like.
1 medium red pepper, large diced
1 medium onion, large diced
2 stalks of celery, you guessed it, large diced
2 strip of bacon, cut into strips
2 russet potatoes, washed and large diced
2 cups of corn
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock or broth
1 cup of half and half
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over high heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook until they are crispy and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the onion, pepper and celery to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes and add the corn. Cook for 2 minutes more. Add the potatoes and stock and bring to a boil cooking until the potatoes are tender. Add the half and half and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until thickened, about 6 minutes more. I do not like to use flour in this chowder. I use an immersion blender to blend up a bit of the soup which purees some of the corn and potatoes which makes the soup thick and creamy without adding cream or any flour. I have made this with reduced fat evaporated milk but did not have any of the on hand last night. I am trying to cut back on the fat and what not. Anyway, I serve the soup with the bacon and chicken on top and some thin slices of green onion.