Recipe Tuesday: HEALTHY Corn Chowder

I know what you're thinking: no way! That's what I was thinking too when this Paula Deen recipe landed in my in-box. Yet, here it is.

Full disclosure: I have not tried this yet. But it sounded good enough to share. It's on the meal calendar I've planned out for the week I'm thinking about making it this weekend.

Lighter Corn Chowder
Recipe from Ms Paula Deen, y'all!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
3 strips center-cut reduced-fat bacon, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 (32-ounce) container chicken stock
2 russet potatoes, cubed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (16-ounce) package frozen baby gold and white corn kernels (3 cups)
1 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons fat-free half-and-half
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

DirectionsSpray a large nonstick saucepan with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned, 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.

Add the onion and jalapeno to the saucepan. Cook, over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour; cook 1 minute. Add the broth, potatoes, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Add the corn, milk, half-and half. Cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese and cilantro; sprinkle with the bacon.

Yield: 8 cups
Nutritionals: Per Serving (1 cup): 167 Cal (15% from Fat, 23% from Protein, 62% from Carb); 10 g Protein; 3 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 1 g Mono Fat; 27 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 5 g Sugar; 117 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 668 mg Sodium; 6 mg Cholesterol

Autumnal Week & Recipe Tuesday... all rolled into one!

What a great blog day! Day 2 of "Autumnal Week" & Recipe Tuesday, all rolled into one post!

Today, I give you this:


Corn Chowder*

This became a favorite of ours during last year's snowpocalypse, round I (not to be confused with this year's snowpocalypse, round II).

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Ready In: 45 Minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
6 bacon strips, diced
3/4 cup diced celery**
1 small onion, diced
1 cup diced potato
1 cup water
1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a saucepan, cook bacon, celery and onion over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until bacon is cooked; drain. Add potato and water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients; heat through (do not boil). Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

* There is nothing healthy about this recipe.
** I leave out the celery since Brad doesn't like it.

Recipe Tuesday: Butternut Squash Soup

I've been trying to cook at home more & try new recipes, so I thought I'd start a new thing on this ol' bloggity blog: Recipe Tuesday. Every Tuesday (give or take a week or two), I'll share a recipe that I've found, successfully made & managed not to kill anyone with. If I'm extra good, I'll try to include some photos of the cooking process.

This week: Butternut Squash Soup , courtesy of one of my coworkers.

When the weather turns chilly, there isn't anything better in the world than homemade soup. I made this for dinner Sunday night along with a grilled cheese sandwich for Brad & had it again for lunch on Monday. It will refrigerate well for a few days, & also will freeze well in small batches. My biggest tip is not to puree it too much - we might have been over-zealous, & it made the soup a little thinner than my personal preference.

¼ stick butter
1 onion, chopped
4 lbs. butternut squash – peeled, seeded cut into chunks
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 gala apple, peeled, cored, diced
2 cups half & half, light cream or milk
2 tbsp. apple brandy
½ tsp. ground nutmeg ( I like a little more)
salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add squash, broth, apple. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash and apple are tender, about 30 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Add half & half , brandy, nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Adjust seasonings to taste. Also can add more liquids to adjust to desired thickness.

Note: after adding half & half, soup should not boil.