Cheesy Ham and Corn Chowder

1. Stir chicken broth, carrots, chicken bouillon, bay leaves, sea salt, pepper, thyme, marjoram, and garlic powder together in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. Add potatoes and onion; cook for 10 minutes more. Add celery; cook until all vegetables are fork tender, about 10 minutes more.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk flour into butter until smooth. Return saucepan to medium heat; gradually add milk to butter mixture, whisking constantly, and cook until mixture thickens, 6 to 7 minutes.

3. Stir milk mixture into vegetable mixture; add corn, Cheddar cheese, and ham, reduce heat to low, and simmer until ham is heated through and cheese melts, 10 to 15 minutes.

Cook's Note:

Start the white sauce right after adding celery to the other vegetables; this will cut 10 minutes off the original cooking time.

For a quicker version, use canned diced potatoes, canned carrots, frozen onions, and eliminate the celery. Combine the broth, potatoes, carrot, onions and seasonings in 5-quart pot; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Prepare white sauce while vegetables are cooking. Combine sauce, vegetables, corn, ham and cheese; reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. This will reduce the total recipe time to 40 minutes.