Creamy New England Clam Chowder

Melt butter in a large pot on low heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and sweat them out for 10 minutes on low heat. Add clam juice from the bottles and drain the clam juice from the cans, saving the clams to add at a later time. Add potatoes and turn up the heat to medium to medium-high. Boil till just softened, about 15 minutes.

Turn down heat to low and add cream cheese. Stir till it melts in completely. This helps cool the soup enough for the cream, so don’t skip this step. Add the full pint of heavy cream and bacon bits. Bring to a simmer on medium-low and add clams and pepper (with all the clam juice, it doesn’t need any salt, but taste it in case you feel it needs more). Stir for about 2-3 minutes for the clams to get warm.

Serve immediately. It’s great served in bread bowls or with rolls.