Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder

Chicken corn chowder is something that I came across from Hubs’ side.  His mom made it often when he was younger, and it became the epitome of comfort food for him.  I fell in love with it because it’s simple, frugal, and can be whipped up really fast if you’re in a hurry!

I had decided to modify it a bit for the slow cooker because last week I needed to make dinner in a hurry before leaving the door.  This just happens to the absolute perfect meal for those early spring days, or even late fall days, when you’re sitting on the soccer field sidelines, huddled under blankets, and snow flurries start to fall.

This recipe as posted below is doubled though because I needed to use up chicken and have multiple meals for the week.  It has a bit of prep work, which can be done the night before and just thrown into your slow cooker the next morning before you leave.

Ingredients:

• 5 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 onions, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cups cooked chicken, diced {you can use either shredded chicken or leftover roast chicken}
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 6 cups chicken broth, divided
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoons parsley
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Spray the bottom of a slow cooker liner with cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. In a medium saute pan, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter.  Add the onion, celery and carrots, and saute for 5 minutes, or until the veggies are translucent and soft.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Transfer the veggies to the slow cooker.
3. Top the veggies with the diced potatoes, chicken and frozen corn.  Set aside.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same pan.  Add flour and whisk until no longer bubbly.  Slowly whisk in 2 cups broth and milk.  {You’re essentially making a gravy in this step, or a thinner version of my homemade cream of chicken soup.  If you’re able to use the canned cream of chicken soup, you could use that as a replacement for this step and these ingredients.}
5. Whisk in the sage, thyme, and parsley.  Add to the slow cooker.
6. Pour the remaining chicken broth into the slow cooker, and stir to combine all ingredients.
7. Allow the chowder to cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.

Serves: 8 – 10