Soup season is the season I think most of us yearn for. Unfortunately, some of us live in areas where its summer 10/12 months, so we have to wait a little longer or we just lower our AC temps down and pretend a little.

That is precisely what we did when I decided to do a major fridge and freezer cleanup and found 2 gallon sized bags of ham. This chowder turned out so delicious that my husband asked me to make more a few days later and it has become a staple in our home.

A great time to purchase ham on the cheap, so that you always have some in your freezer, is directly after the holidays! I managed to get 2 large hams for under $8 total and ended up with full bags of carved ham pieces along with 2 beautiful ham hocks that are saved for soup stocks.

INGREDIENTS :

• 1-2 LB Ham, diced (you can use more or less, its a preference thing)
• 5 Potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium Onion, diced
• 1-2 cans of Corn (if you’re like us and you love corn, use 2)
• 4-6 cloves of Garlic, grated or pressed
• 4 TB (Tablespoons) Oil or Butter, divided
• 2-3 TB Flour
• 4 c. (cups) Meat Stock (I prefer using Orrington Farms Beef Powder)
• 2 c. Milk
• 2/3 c. Heavy Cream
• 1/2 c. Sour Cream (optional)
• 1 TB Paprika
• 2 tsp (teaspoons) Salt
• Pepper to taste
• Chives or Scallions for topping

STEPS :

1. Dice your ham and begin searing it in 1 TB oil or butter. In the meantime, peel and dice your onion and set aside. Peel and dice your potatoes. I really love this veggie chopper I have because it makes the process so much easier and quicker. I’ll link it for you below!
2. Once your ham begins getting a little golden around the edges, add your onions. Sauté until your ham and onions get golden brown. Grate your garlic and add it to your ham and onions and cook for no more than 1 minute. Garlic burns very easily. Remove the mix from the dutch oven and set aside.
3. Drain your corn from its liquid and set it aside as well. Add 3 TB of oil or butter into your dutch oven where you cooked the ham and onions, add the same amount of flour to the oil. Cook it while continuously mixing for a couple of minutes until the flour begins slightly browning. This is your roux. A roux is a thickening agent for soups, stocks and sauces. Once your roux has cooked for a few minutes, add your milk and heavy cream. Bring it to a boil and add your meat stock. Give it a good stir and bring back to a low boil.
4. Add salt to your soup stock, drain your potatoes from the water they’ve been soaking in and toss the diced potatoes into your soup stock. Bring to a slow boil and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove half of the potatoes and put them into a container where you can blend them using an immersion blender or a regular blender. Once blended, add it back to the stock with the rest of the potatoes and give it a good stir.
5. Add your sour cream (optional), followed by adding in the ham and onion mixture and your canned corn. Stir, stir, stir. Put it back on low-medium heat and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Top with chopped chives and enjoy!
   

THINGS I LOVED USING DURING THIS RECIPE :

Vegetable Chopper – https://amzn.to/4pK5OOr

Le Creuset Dutch Oven – https://amzn.to/4nt5QIc