Corn Chowder with Smoked Sausage

My souvenir from Kansas City was a cold virus that started with a killer sore throat on Easter Monday, so as I contemplated what to cook, I had to be careful to choose something throat-soothing and definitely NOT spicy.  I flipped through my recipe collection, and after about ten different and very tempting curry recipes (you think maybe I like curry?), I found the perfect solution: Corn Chowder with Smoked Sausage.  It is creamy, tasty, and easy to swallow without being spicy.  It makes for a great comfort food that would be kind to my uncomfortable throat.

Corn Chowder with Smoked Sausage

This corn chowder is super easy to make with just a small amount of preparation involved.  I usually don't precook the potatoes but just dump them in along with the milk.  It works out pretty well.  I have made this with reduced-fat 2% milk before as well as fat-free milk (I happen to have just fat-free milk at home this time around), and I think I do prefer the reduced-fat milk because it makes the soup creamier and gives it more flavor.  I have never tried it with whole milk, but it is already very good with milk that has lower fat content, so I prefer to keep it that way.  I also find that I don't need to add a lot of salt to this, because the smoked sausage adds quite a bit of flavor and provides a nice contrast from the other, blander ingredients.  This is just what I needed.

Recipe courtesy of:
Hillshire Farm (get the recipe here)