Quick Chicken and Corn Chowder

Hi guys!

I'm finally back from my summer travels and all set up in my new house, which means I can start cooking and contributing to this website again! Here is what I made for dinner tonight. It turned out great so I wanted to share. The recipe was quick and easy and turns out it's healthy too. Enjoy!!

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (**I omit, not big on spicy)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breast halves)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernals (about 3 ears)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pan over medium heat.
2. Add onion, celery, and jalapeno; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
3. Add flour, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Whisk in milk until incorporated.
5. Add remaining ingredients.
6. Bring to a boil, cook(boil) until think, stirring almost constantly so it doesn't burn and stick to the pan (about 5 minutes).
   
   **It thickens up nicely if you let it boil long enough. Once done, I let it simmer while I put together the rest of dinner. Topped with some cheese and served with cornbread. Delicious!

Yield: 6 servings (about 1 cup each)

CALORIES 257 (28% from fat); FAT 8.1g (sat 4.4g, mono 2.4g, poly 0.8g); IRON 0.4mg, CHOLESTEROL 52mg, CALCIUM 165mg, CARBOHYDRATE 28.6g; SODIUM 668mg; PROTEIN 19.1g, FIBER 1.9g.

Cooking Light, December 2001

Wolfgang Puck's Butternut Squash Soup

On our trip to San Francisco we had some yummy things that I looked up the recipes for. I had this twice on the trip. It was so delicious!

Wolfgang Puck's Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients

3 C Butternut Squash, Chopped
1/2 C Orange Juice
1/3 C Dark Brown Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/4 C Sweet Butter
1 C Leek, Chopped
1/2 C Onion, Chopped
1 Granny Smith Apple, Chopped
4 C Chicken Stock
1/3 C Heavy Cream (Optional)
Salt
Freshly Ground White Pepper
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 C Butternut Squash, Diced
1/4 C Sage Leaves
1/8 C Italian Parsley
1/2 C Canola Oil
6 Sage Leaves

Directions

In a large bowl, toss 3 cups of butternut squash, peeled and seeded, cut into large chunks. Add 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, and 1 cinnamon stick. Pour into roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 1 hour or until tender. Discard cinnamon stick, drain and set juice aside.

In a heavy bottom stock pot place 1/4 cup sweet butter, 1 cup leeks, white part only - rough chopped, 1/2 cup onion and 1 granny smith apple - peeled, cored and chopped. Cook slowly over a medium flame, stirring frequently until very tender. Do not allow to color. Add 4 C chicken stock or vegetable bouillon. Bring to a low boil. Add squash, but not the squash juice. Cook for five minutes and add the optional 1/3 cup heavy cream and simmer for about 5 minutes. Cool and puree with a hand blender till very smooth.

In a non-stick saute pan, over a high flame place 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. When it begins to smoke, add 1 cup of butternut squash, diced into small pieces. Stir until slightly colored. Add the reserved "juice" from the squash that was made earlier. Cook until all the liquid evaporates and the squash is lightly glazed. Reserve in a warm place.

Place 1/4 cup sage leaves, 1/8 cup Italian parsley and 1/2 cup Canola oil in a blender with a few ice cubes. Blend at high speed till very smooth. Pour into a cup and refrigerate.

In a small pan with a little peanut oil, fry 6 large sage leaves till crispy and drain on paper towels.

Ladle squash soup puree into six warm bowls. Sprinkle glazed, diced squash evenly over bowls, and drizzle about one teaspoon sage oil over each, and lay one sage leaf on each soup. Serve immediately.

Cauliflower Soup

In an effort to try to include more (and different) vegetables in my diet, I tried various cauliflower soup recipes. I have settled on this one as my favorite. Although it's not QUITE as good as the Wisconsin Cauliflower soup at Zupus, I'm hoping it's a nutritional superior since it has less cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter 1 large onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced (maybe a little less) 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 carrots, chopped 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth 1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 cup milk 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 tablespoon dry sherry

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cauliflower, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
2.	Puree in batches in a blender or food processor, or in the pot using an immersion blender. Return to low heat and stir in milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and sherry. Heat through. Add cheese to taste.

After the final heat through I let the soup sit for a bit to thicken before eating. Then I add a little cheese and peas to my portion - but I add peas to ALMOST everything :-) The final product has an orange tint from the carrots but they don't overpower the taste.

Enjoy!

Asparagus Soup

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups diced and peeled red pototaoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup "lite" coconut milk
2 cups 1/2 inch pieces trimmed asparagus
Ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 chopped green onions
Melt butter and oil over medium heat. Add onion and 1/4 tsp. of salt, stirring often, until golden. Stir in curry powder, ginger, lemon zest and potatoes, stir, and simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, coconut milk and aparagus. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, partially cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender (in batches) until smooth. Season with remaining salt and pepper.
Whisk sour cream, lemon juice and green onions in a small bowl and garnish with a swirl of it.