Betty's Clam Chowder

Years ago I found a basic recipe on a can of clams, I tweaked it to suit myself and eventually came up with this recipe.

1 can clams with juice
4 tablespoons chopped fat salt pork or chopped bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 to 2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
few grains pepper
1 cup milk

Fry out pork or bacon. Remove browned pieces and save for garnish. Saute onion and celery in fat until onion is translucent. Add potatoes, salt and boiling water. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Make a cream sauce; melt butter, stir in flour and pepper, then stir in milk and juice from the clams. Cook until slightly thick, add clams.
Stir this sauce into potato mixture. Keep hot and serve.
Makes approx. 6 servings

NOTE:- I have a couple friends that could eat most of this themselves, so if they are visiting I double the recipe.

Sometimes when I double the recipe, I use the one can of clams still and then I add a few scallops and shrimp to the recipe for a seafood chowder. My two daughters like that better. Joe prefers the original.

Betty in Canada
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