Harvest Chowder
Easy to make and use up veggies from the garden / fridge
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 medium carrot's peeled and diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- 6 ounces ham sliced and diced
- 1 small zucchini sliced
- 1 small summer squash sliced
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced
- 7 tablespoon butter
- 6 tablespoon flour
- 3-4 cups milk
- thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or stock pot melt 1 tablespoon of butter and saute the onions, celery and carrots for a few minutes. Add ham and potatoes and continue sauteing
- Add about 1 1/2 cups of milk to the ham and veggies, some thyme and a bay leaf. Simmer this mixture while you prepare the cream base for the soup and allow the potatoes to cook through.
- In a medium saucepan melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour stirring to make a roux, allow to cook on low stirring constantly for 3-4 minute. be careful not to burn it.
- Add all the milk at once, while whisking constantly. allow to simmer until it reaches the thickness that you are wanting for your chowder.
- Add the roux to your ham and veggies, at this time I would add both of the squash. I personally do not like over done squash so simmer just until they are aldente. Adjust the seasoning and enjoy!
What I did a little differently this time
- I used less milk and simmered all the veggies in some homemade chicken stock. I did make the roux out of milk which gave me the creaminess but my chowder was a little on the lighter side instead of using all that milk. I also had some mashed potatoes and some corn leftover from dinner the night before and I added those. The mashed potatoes helped thicken the chowder even more and the corn added a little sweetness.