Oregon Transplant: Smoked Salmon Chowder

The hubby gets home tomorrow! Hip, hip, hooray!

I'm excited, can you tell? I guess you could say I've had my fill of Mexican food. I'm ready to have my best friend back. Sure, it's been great fun slacking on the house work. Watching Days of Our Lives with a bowl of ice cream, hair in a scrunchy, living in my pajamas. Feasting on Mexican food all day, all night. It was all very amusing. But I'm done with it now. I like my life for a reason.

Pluuuuuuuuus-

We have some amazing news!

We are adding a new member to the family!!

This little guy's name is McLovin (we are undecided on keeping the name). I've been following a Chihuahua rescue site, Rescue Me!, on FaceBook for a while now, watching and waiting for the right time. Well, the time has come! This little guy's picture popped up on Monday, and I just had to reach out. Long story short, they contacted me really fast and our application to adopt him was approved. The hubby has to work this weekend, so we are going to pick him up first thing on Tuesday morning. I have no idea how I'm going to wait a week to go pick him up. I'm going to have that happy/excited stomach until he's in my arms, I just know. I've only spoken to his foster mom briefly, so I'm not sure how he ended up at the shelter, but we'll know more soon. Plus, we'll have waaaaaay more pictures :)

Does anyone have any ideas for names? The hubby and I have only come up with Milton, but really, we are saving that name for when we get a pug puppy, so we are at square one.

I've got puppies on the brain, and yet, I need to think food. Smoked Salmon Chowder, to be exact-

I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago (when I posted Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad) that I'd picked up a large pack of smoked salmon. Well, once you open that package, you really need to use it. And this was how I used the rest of mine!

We are chowder lovers at this house. I usually make clam chowder, but this was an excellent opportunity to try something different. And oh wow! It's creamy. Savory. Full of flavor. There are so many veggies in this soup. The smoked salmon indeed lends a smoke flavor to the broth. The bacon adds crunch and saltiness. Serve it with warm, crusty bread to sop up every last drop.

One note about this soup before I run off to daydream about fluffy puppies- This is one soup that does not improve with age. The smokiness from the salmon is greatly diminished by Day 2. This recipe is for a very small batch of soup, which I highly recommend doing. Don't plan on having leftovers. This is not a soup to make a big batch of and freeze.

Well folks, I'm going to try and go about my day without thinking too much about the latest member of our family. It's gonna be hard!

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

2 strips of bacon, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

1/2 cup red potatoes, diced

1/2 dried basil

1/2 tbsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup smoked salmon, diced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

Directions:

1. Place bacon in a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. Fry bacon crumbles, stirring often, until bacon is crispy. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon, set aside.

2. Add onion, carrot, and celery to the pan. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until veggies have softened. Add garlic to the pan, sauté for 30 seconds.

3. In a small bowl, combine flour and milk. Whisk to thoroughly combine. Add milk mixture to the pan, stirring constantly. Add corn though black pepper to the pan. Slowly bring the pan to a simmer. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

4. Add lemon juice and smoked salmon to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in parsley. Serve immediately, topped with reserved crumbled bacon.

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