Clam Chowder y'all!

Okey Dokey. I think it's about that time to share my all time favorite recipe: my mommy's clam chowder! The story goes that this very chowder is why my dad married my mom. Probably not entirely true, I do know that he loves, my husband loves it (even doubling the recipes still makes it disappear in one night), and even some of his classmates that have tried it loved it. So that's reason enough for me to share my secret. Ladies, if you have a man and you want him to stick around, feed him this.

CLAM CHOWDER

1/2 c. diced onion
1/2 c. diced celery
1 c. diced potatoes
2 c. chopped clams (save nectar)
1 c. milk, preheated
1 c. half-n-half, preheated
1/4 c. flour
5 oz. butter
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 tsp thyme
white pepper
salt

In 2 oz of butter sauté onions and celery until transparent. Add clam nectar, chicken cube, potatoes, and simmer until cooked. Make paste of 3 oz. butter and flour. Do not brown. Gently stir into soup. Add clams and preheated milk. Stir until thickened. Add pepper, salt, and thyme. Add heated half-n-half.


Notes:

I don't usually measure the onions and celery. I usually use 1 small onion and about 2 stalks of celery.

If you don't feel you have enough clam nectar, or you want to use something with less salt, you can use chicken stock instead, omitting the bouillon cube.

This recipe might be a little time consuming at the stove, but it's fairly easy. You just have to stir a lot and monitor the milk and veggies to make sure they don't brown and stick to the bottom of the pan.

Happy cooking!