Corn Chowder

Our refrigerator is on the fritz and everything in the freezer thawed. So one of the things I did in an attempt to salvage the frozen goods was to make corn chowder. This recipe is adapted from "Is It Soup Yet?", by Dot Vartan.

1 20-oz. pkg frozen corn
6 cups or 3 16-oz cans broth
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1 cup milk (2% or greater)

Cook the corn, in microwave if desired, according to package directions. In a stock pot, saute onion in oil for 5 minutes, add chopped pepper and cook 10 more minutes, stir in the cubed potatoes and cook 5 more minutes. Add the broth, salt, pepper, cayenne, and thyme, and stir well. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are soft (about 30 minutes). Stir in half of the corn, and using a food processor, puree the soup in batches. Return the puree to the stock pot, and stir in the rest of the corn and the milk. Heat through before serving. Serves about 10.