How you durrrin?

Hello friends and family. This is Tara Bunch and Scott Shappell coming to you from the kitchen of 1532. As you may or may not know, we have been cooking together on a weekly basis for some time now, making delectable, mostly low fat meals that we enjoy. Now we have decided to share our culinary secrets with you, our favorite people. You can look forward to recipes we created or discovered, kitchen tips, and maybe even a tasty dish of the local 'news'.

We started cooking Weight Watchers meals together early in 2K9 in an effort to lose weight. Well, Scott lost 25 pounds and I lost 2.5. Needless to say, I was/am discouraged, but I still enjoy cooking with my friend. We may not be low cal, but we do try to watch what we eat and make delicious treats in the meantime. Please allow me to share this Corn Chowder recipe that I just threw together for you:

4 Pieces Smoked Bacon - cooked and crumbled

1 Large Diced Onion

3 Stalks Celery (diced)

Drippings from cooked bacon

1/2 cup Flour

Vegetable oil

32oz box Chicken Broth (I like Swansons)

2 TBSP Corn Starch (optional)

Cold water

1 pkg Frozen Sweet Corn

8 oz Sour Cream

Salt and Course Ground Black Pepper

In a Dutch Oven cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Place bacon on paper towel and measure the drippings. Add Vegetable oil to bacon grease to make 1/2 cup. Sweat celery, onions and a pinch of salt in oil until soft. Add flour. Stir for about two minutes until flour is incorporated. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. At this point the soup may not be thick enough to your liking. If not, make a slurry of equal parts corn starch and cold water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add Corn and simmer 5 more minutes. Finish the chowder with sour cream and stir. Simmering 5 more minutes. Garnish with the crumbled bacon.

We hope to bring you tasty dish you can enjoy and maybe even a good recipe or two.