Clam Chowder

I was trying to find a good Clam Chowder recipe in my cookbook collection. I came across 3-4 that all sounded good, but I liked one thing about this one, and another thing about that. So…I threw the three recipes together, throwing out what I didn’t like and adding what I did,  and this is what I came up with.

Clam Chowder

½ c. precooked crumbled bacon, or chopped ham (we used ham because that’s what we had)

2 cans (6.5oz) chopped or baby clams (drained, reserve the juice)

4 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 tsp. Worcestershire

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. parsley

dash black pepper

dash of cayenne pepper

2 tsp. salt

4 tsp. chicken bouillon

3 c. water

1 onion, chopped

½ c. butter

¾ c. flour

4 c. milk

1. Drain the clams. Reserve the juice, and add enough water (if needed) to make one cup. Set  both the clams and the juice/water mix aside.

2. Put chopped potatoes, carrots, and celery, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, sage, parsley, peppers, salt, and bouillon in a large pot.  Add the water and clam juice. This should be enough water to just cover potatoes. If not, add a little more. Boil for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

3. Lightly mash the potatoes.

4. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add onion. Sautee 2-3 minutes or until onions are crisp-tender.  Whisk in flour and gradually add milk whisking constantly. Whisk until roux is thick. Add to pot, bring to a boil.

5. Add clams and bacon/ham. Heat through.

6. Serve with crackers or some yummy homemade bread!