Corn Chowder

I was reading a friend's blog and she said she's been craving corn chowder. This was a couple weeks back and I don't know if corn chowder still sounds good or if she found a good recipe. No matter what, it gave me a push to post a new entry, so thanks B! And if you still need it, hope this helps.
Corn Chowder, like most soups, is very flexible. I've tried a few recipes and really have liked them all. The key ingredients for corn chowder at our house:

corn (fresh would be good but frozen is great and easy)
bacon
onions
garlic
jalapeno or green chiles (we really like spicy food, so we use either 1 fresh and chopped or a 7 oz can of diced chiles)
milk

Other bits we like to throw in the pot:

diced potato
bites of chicken
cheddar

Following are two variations on corn chowder. You can mess around with most of the ingredients, especially if you want to keep it lower (or higher) in fat. We like to use bacon for flavor and will also add chicken and potaoes to make it more hearty. The main things to remember that will make the chowder tasty:

browned meat (either chicken, bacon, or both) or sauteed onions and garlic give a nice flavor boost
milk or half and half as the liquid base for creaminess
salt or bouillon or stock to bring out the sweet flavor of the corn

Chicken Corn Chowder
about 30 minutes
1.5 lbs chicken
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 or 2 cloves garlic
3 Tablespoons butter
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup hot water
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups milk or half and half (or a mix of both)
2 cups monterey jack cheese (cheddar works too)
1 can cream corn
1 can green chilies

Brown the chicken with the onion, garlic, and butter in a medium saucepan. Dissolve bouillon in hot water and add to the saucepan, along with the cumin and milk. Reduce heat and cover for five minutes. Add cheese, cream corn, and chilies. Warm until cheese is melted. Serve hot.
this recipe comes from Brad's mission in Texas.

Fresh Corn Chowder
about 45 minutes
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, diced
6 small ears of corn, about 2 to 3 cups (frozen works too)
4 1/2 cups milk
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Place bacon in a soup pot and cook, stirring, over medium heat-low heat until it release all of its fat and is beginning to crisp (10 to 15 minutes).
Leave bacon in the pan and spoon out all but about 2 Tablespoons. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring, until tender and slightly browned (10 to 15 minutes).
Remove kernels from cobs, if using fresh; reserve kernels.
Add cobs, milk, and potatoes to the pot. Push the cobs int the milk to fully submerge them. Reduce the heat and cover, until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the cobs.
Stir in reserved corn kernels along with salt and pepper.
Simmer gently until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes. Wiht a slotted spoon, remove 1 1/2 cups solids from the soup and puree until smooth. Return to the soup and add the butter.
Let stand until the butter is melted, then stir. Ladle into warm bowls.