Clam Chowder
                      Why I Love This Recipe
I made this just last weekend. Defintely a keeper!
Ingredients You'll Need
                                     2 tablespoons butter
                    
                                     2 slices thick-sliced bacon, chopped
                    
                                     1 medium onion, chopped
                    
                                     2 ribs celery with greens, chopped
                    
                                     4 sprigs fresh thyme (I stripped the leaves off the stems when adding to the recipe)
                    
                                     Salt and pepper
                    
                                     2 teaspoons hot sauce 
                    
                                     2 tablespoons flour
                    
                                     1 teaspoon Old Bay Seafood seasoning (my addition)
                    
                                     1 pint half and half (I used fat-free)
                    
                                     1 can (14 1/2 oz.) chicken stock (recipe called for 2 cups)
                    
                                     2 medium potatoes, shredded
                    
                                     2 cans whole baby clams, with their juice
                    
                               
Directions
In a medium pot over medium high heat, melt butter. Add bacon and onions, celery and thyme sprigs. Season with salt, pepper, Old Bay and hot sauce and cook 5 minutes. Add flour and cook a minute more.
Add half-and-half and stock and bring to a bubble, then stir in potatoes and clams. Bring soup back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, until potatoes are cooked and soup has thickened to coat the back of a spoon.
Remove thyme sprigs before serving. The leaves will have fallen off into the soup.