Bacon-Corn Chowder with Shrimp

I decided to make this soup on a whim tonight because I had most of the ingredients on hand and it looked delicious.  Seriously, you can never go wrong with big chunks of bacon!  This soup came together pretty quickly and is super yummy.  I love the smokiness that the bacon adds.  It also doesn't hurt that one serving is 294 calories.  Thank you Cooking Light~

Bacon-Corn Chowder with Shrimp
Cooking Light, August Issue, pg. 26

Ingredients:
6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
1 cup prechopped onion
1/2 cup prechopped celery
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 cups fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/3 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until the bacon begins to brown.  Remove 2 slices bacon.  Drain on paper towels.  Add onion and next 3 ingredients (through minced garlic) to pan, and saute for 2 minutes.  Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender.  Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape), and secure lid on blender.  Place a clean towel over opening in the blend lid (to avoid splatters).  Blend until smooth.  Return pureed corn mixture to pan.  Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done.  Stir in half-and-half, pepper, and salt.  Crumble reserved bacon over soup.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 2/3 cups)

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 294
Fat: 7g (sat 2.7g, mono 1.3g, poly 1.2g)
Protein: 26.8g
Carb: 34.8g
Fiber: 4.3g
Chol: 144mg
Iron: 31mg
Sodium: 547mg
Calc: 94mg