Southwest Corn Chowder

This turned out to be really good, especially a couple of days after. My inspiration came from a corn chowder that was available at Whole Foods in the ready to eat section. It smelled really good, but was expensive, so I decided to make my own. As always, I suggest to use organic ingredients if possible.

Ingredients:

• 2 16 oz bags of frozen corn
• 4 medium sized potatoes- diced small
• 1 medium/large yellow onion- diced small
• 2 cloves garlic- minced
• 3 jalapenos- chopped (I wanted to use poblano, but they were not available when I needed them)
• 1 can diced tomatoes- drained
• 1 32 ounce container chicken stock/broth
• 2-3 cups of milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2-1 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 slices of bacon
• 4 cooked chicken tenderloins- diced (sauteed, grilled, boiled or however is preferred)

Directions:
Fry bacon until it is crispy and golden brown. Remove from pan to drain on a towel- crumble. Leave the bacon grease in the pan and saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno until soft (5-6 minutes). Add the corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chicken broth and bay leaf. Bring to a low boil and cook until the potatoes are cooked through (30-45 minutes). Add the milk, cumin and chicken. Simmer for 10-15 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper or pepper flakes for added heat. Serve with crumbled bacon, sour cream, salsa, guacamole and chips.