Simple Corn Chowder

You won't believe how fast and easy this is to make.

Step 1:
 2 c. water
1 c. carrots
1 1/2 c. diced potatoes
a little bit of chopped celery
Cook vegetables with salt for 10 min.


Step 2:
1/4 c. butter
2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
Boil until thick. Add vegetables and water to the sauce. Add 1 can of creamed corn. Serve topped with grated cheese.

*I also like to add some frozen corn and peas as well as some rosemary, thyme, and fresh pepper to season it. I also recommend doubling this recipe so there is plenty to go around (and some for leftovers the next day - yum).

Recipe compliments of Rebecca Cooper.

Jason's Chilicious

First of all, I don't know who Jason is, but he makes some good chili. Here's what you need:

2 tbsp olive oil
3 c cooked, shredded chicken
2 onions, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small can of chopped green chilies
juice of 1-2 limes
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
3 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cans of chicken (or vegetable) broth
1/2 c chopped cilantro, plus a little more for garnish
1 1/2 c frozen corn
hot sauce (optional)
shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
lime wedges
tortilla chips

Directions
Cook chicken breasts, cool, and shred by hand. (I cooked mine in a crock pot with a little water and taco seasoning on low for about four hours.)

Chop onions. Saute in pan with green chilies until soft. Add garlic, saute for a few minutes. Add dry spices, stirring until distributed evenly.

Add chicken broth, beans, corn, cilantro, and chicken. Add hot sauce if the chili powder didn't make it spicy enough for you (I added some Tabasco sauce to mine).

Simmer gently for a few hours. Toss in a handful of cheese. Add a bit of cilantro and a little more lime juice right before serving.

Serve with Jack Cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, avocado, and tortilla chips (and we had a little sour cream with ours as well).

If you want a pdf version you can print, click here.

Recipe compliments of Cathy Zielske.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

2 C. split peas, rinsed
6 C. cold water
5 C. chicken or vegetable broth
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stock with leaves, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste
dash each of parsley, thyme, marjoram and cayenne pepper
2 C. ham (this is good soup to make after you have a honey baked ham - I used the leftovers from ours and it was really good)
1 potato

*Optional: 1 tsp. sugar, barley

(For the barley, while the peas are simmering, in another pot, cook 1/2 cup of barley with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until most of the water has been absorbed. Drain and rinse barley with cold water. Add to soup.)

Directions: In a large pot add peas with 6 cups of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for one hour until the split peas are tender (longer if needed).

Add chicken (or vegetable) broth, carrot, potato, celery, onion, garlic, sugar, lemon juice, ham, bay leaf and all spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 1/2 hour or until carrots are soft.

(Note: I didn't add the potato because I thought it was thick enough already. You can also puree the soup in a blender before adding the barley but I didn't.) Yum!