Clam Chowder

This is another recipe I found in one of my magazines a couple of years ago and has quickly turned into my husband's favorite recipe. I could cook this every week and my husband would still be excited about this dish.

Ingredients:

4 strips bacon (I use twice this amount, because we are huge bacon eaters around here, haha), cut up into small pieces

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2-1/2 Tbsp flour

1, 8 oz bottle clam juice

3 cups milk

1 large potato, peeled and cut

Hot sauce

2 cans chopped clams, drained

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley (however, I sometimes use the dried parsley instead of fresh)

Salt

Directions:

Combine bacon and oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until fat is drawn out of bacon, about 4 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Pour in clam juice and bring to a boil, stirring well. Add milk, potato, clams and a dash of hot sauce. Season with salt. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, 10-12 minutes. Ladle chowder into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

*What I have found to make things easier is to have everything all ready, all chopped clams drained, potato peeled and chopped, bacon chopped, milk already measured. When I first made this, I was stressed out trying to do everything when I had already started making the dish, which made things harder on myself (like trying to chop the potato when it needed to already be chopped and in the pot). I know it's probably one of those, it's common knowledge to do that, but hey, I'm still learning and thought to pass that along.