Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

So here is my latest soup creation, and it's a good one! Chop two onions and sweat them in oil along with some chopped pickled jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper. After the onion is soft, add a large bag of frozen corn to the pot, along with chicken stock to just cover. Bring to a boil. Scrub a handful of red-skinned potatoes, quarter them, and add to the pot. I also added a half can of Rotel tomatoes with chilies that were left in the refrigerator from Sunday's huevos rancheros. Add more stock to cover and bring to a simmer. Taste to check seasoning. I pulled the meat from a rotisserie chicken....the 'mojo' version from Publix is one of my staples for soups, salads, enchiladas, etc. The girls ate most of the breast meat, but I chopped everything else and added it to the pot. Add more stock to cover, if needed. Turn the heat up to bring the soup to a boil. Add two heaping tablespoons of flour to a half-cup measuring cup, add water to fill, and whisk together with a fork to combine and to remove any lumps (do it over the sink!). When the soup is at a full boil, add the flour/water mixture (or slurry, if you want to get technical) and stir well to combine. This will thicken the broth....now the soup will have a more chowder-y mouth feel. Lower the heat back to simmer and stir as it thickens. This next step is completely optional, but since I was cleaning out the fridge while I was cooking last evening, I added the two half packages of shredded Cheddar from the deli drawer. Oh, and I crumbled three pieces of crisp cooked bacon left from the weekend. John would tell you the last two additions made the chowder so good, but it would be plenty tasty without them. To serve, I crushed up some tortilla chips to add some crunch. A friend (hey, Jasmine!) asked if she could do this in the crock pot. Yes, but with just a few changes. I would start with raw chicken breasts, cut into chunks and seasoned. Add the frozen corn, potatoes, Rotel tomatoes with juice, and onion, plus chicken stock to cover by a few inches. Cook on low. You may need to add more stock when you get home, and you may need to turn it up to high and add a slurry to thicken. Stir in cheese and bacon, if using, and top servings with the crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy. :)