A Prize-Winning Soup for the First Day of Autumn

I have always been a sucker for these cookbooklets you find at the checkout stands of grocery stores.  The two Pillsbury ones at the top are from a long time ago, because they are listed as Pillsbury Classics #4 and #11.  I finally decided to sort mine out, and had forgotten just how many I had accumulated over the years.  They are now divided into categories just like my recipes and are easy to find with each season. 

The "Festive Autumn Recipes" is one of my favorites.  There are recipes for Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving, tailgating, Halloween, and my favorite called "After a Hayride."  What says autumn more than a hayride?  I was a Girl Scout leader for my daughter's troop and it was one of the activities the girls always looked forward to each October.   The recipes for the hayride include applesauce doughnuts, pumpkin doughnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds, caramel corn, baked apples, hot cider, and hot chocolate.  It was such fun to feel the coolness of the air, while bouncing around on a dirt road on a hay wagon, with a group of sweet, giggling girls, then indulging in warm apple cider and doughnuts.  I miss those days.

All of these booklets have great recipes and ideas, but there is one recipe that is always on our menu.  What better day to post than today, the official first day of autumn.  It's my "Corn and Sausage Chowder" that was featured in a 1987 Midwest Living magazine article.  The magazine wanted to feature soup-makers of the Midwest and they asked if I would submit a recipe.  I can't even tell you the number of people who called me from all over the country telling me how the soup has become a family favorite.  I have been making it ever since.  I hope you like it, too.  And it's great after a hayride!

Debbie's Corn and Sausage Chowder

1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage
1 cup chopped onions
4 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste (depends on the saltiness of the sausage - it may need another 1/2 teaspoon or so)
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups water
1 can (14 ounces) cream-style corn
1 can (14-16 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14 ounces) evaporated milk (do not substitute with regular milk - it won't work!)

1.  Brown the sausage in a large saucepan or Dutch oven, drain off any accumulated drippings.  Add onions and stir another couple minutes until they start to soften.
2.  Stir in potatoes, salt, marjoram, and pepper.   Add water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 15-20 minutes until potatoes are just tender. 
3.  Stir in both corns and milk and heat until very hot.