Bacon & Veggie Chowder

Once again I am cleaning out the fridge and trying to make something delicious with not much. After look at all sorts of chowder recipes on the web I felt pretty confident I could wing my own. For a first attempt at chowder it was pretty delicious!

Ingredients
Serves4-6

2 cans low sodium chicken broth
1 can diced green chilies
1 red potato, skin on, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2-3 green onion stalks, chopped
frozen corn, 1 handful
black beans, cooked, 1 handful
1/4 cup flour
1 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or jack cheese
black pepper, to taste (I used tons)
cumin, to taste
paprika. to taste
onion powder, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
sea salt, a pinch

Bring chicken stock and 1 cup water to boil. Add all veggies and spices to pot and simmer for 30 minutes until potatoes are tender. While the veggies are simmering you can cook your bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and cook chopped garlic in the bacon drippings. Add browned garlic and crumbled bacon to the soup. Lower heat and continue to cook covered.

In a separate bowl add 1 cup of skim milk and add 1/4 cup flour. Whisk until there are no lumps, or you can use an immersion blender which is much faster. Add mixture to soup and stir well. Now you can add your shredded cheese. Stir well and let cook for another 10 minutes to ensure everything is blended well.

Serve with tortilla strips and chopped cilantro.