Creamy Vegetable Chowder

So, here's a good recipe for a cold day. This is one of my husband's favorites. It's just a good, hearty veggie chowder that my sister and I came up with one chilly day when we were messing around in the kitchen. I suppose it could be made without the milk too, and it would be just a hearty veggie soup. Experiment, anyone?

Creamy Vegetable Chowder

(Serves approx 6-8)

4 cups water

3 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

 4 potatoes, chopped (I like to leave the skins on, to make it a little heartier. And I usually judge about 1 potato per person, or two smaller ones)

2 cans of corn (or about 12 oz of frozen corn)

1 large onion, chopped

1/8 cup lemon juice

2 cups milk

1/4 cup white flour

1 tsp crushed red pepper

salt and pepper, to taste

Chop all of the veggies into small pieces. (I was missing the onions this particular time. Not the same.)

Cook the water, celery, carrots, potatoes, onions, and corn in the crock pot on high heat until vegetables are soft, about 3-4 hours. Turn the heat to low.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour into the milk. Slowly pour this mixture into the soup, whisking until fully incorporated. Do not let it boil. Add the lemon juice*, red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the flour's starchy flavor is cooked out. (This means you have to keep sampling your soup . . . darn.) The soup will be slightly spicy. 

*I add the lemon because i gives the vegetables a nice "pop."

I like to serve this with homemade rolls. I will try to post my recipe for those soon! Enjoy!