Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups clam juice (saved from the cans plus bottled)
• 4 cups russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 3 cans (6.5 oz each) minced or chopped clams, drained

Before you start

• Drain the clams, saving the juice.
• Add bottled clam juice to the saved juice to make 2 cups.

Directions

1. Cook until crisp: bacon.
2. Cook until soft, 5 min: step 1, onion, celery, butter.
3. Stir in, cook 1 min: step 2, all-purpose flour.
4. Simmer until potatoes are tender, 15 min: step 3, clam juice (saved from the cans plus bottled), russet potatoes, bay leaf, salt, black pepper.
5. Heat through without boiling, 5 min, remove bay leaf: step 4, half-and-half, minced or chopped clams.