Spicy Corn Chowder

Note: This picture does not do the soup justice. It was really delicious!

I love making soup in the winter, especially on cold, snowy days!  Today was one of those days for us, Stephen and I stayed home all day in our pajamas.  I studied and Stephen worked on church stuff and relaxed since it's his day off! So it was a wonderful day that was perfect for soup!  All day I thought of making soup and this is what I came up with with what I had.  It was wonderful and very easy so hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Spicy Corn Chowder

1 onion
1 jalepeno
1 t. garlic
3 T. butter
1 can green chilis
2 - 2 1/2 c. water
2 c. chopped potatoes
1 c. chopped carrots
1 can of corn
1/4 c. evaporated milk (you can use any other kind of cream or none at all, this is what I had.)
salt
pepper

Directions: Saute the onion, jalapeno, and garlic in butter until tender.  Add the green chilis, potatoes, and carrots and saute about 5 more minutes.  Add water (or chicken broth), corn, salt, and pepper to taste.  Simmer for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.  Use an immersion blender or any other method to partially blend some of the soup (this will make it more creamy, but don't blend all the soup), I did about 8-10 pulses with the blender.  If you want the soup a little thicker add some corn startch, about 1 teaspoon.  Turn the soup on low and add the milk making sure not to boil at this point.
We added homemade croutons I made with some leftover bread and you could add some cheddar cheese too!

Enjoy and hope you stay warm!