Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder

 

This was yummy and would be even better when corn is actually in season and awesome.  Definitely a keeper.  I found this recipe on Pinterest.  If you don't know what Pinterest is.... it is the new, best way to waste time at work =)  I posted my measurements below the original recipe.

Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder

Serves:  4

Weight Watchers Points: 6

1 medium uncooked yukon gold potato(es)  

1 spray(s) cooking spray  
1/2 cup(s) uncooked celery, chopped  
1/4 cup(s) (chopped) uncooked onion(s), chopped (or 1 large shallot)  
4 piece(s) corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife  
1 cup(s) sweet red pepper(s), diced  
4 oz uncooked Canadian-style bacon, diced  
2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk  
1/2 tsp table salt  
1/4 tsp black pepper  
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste   

Pierce potato in several places with a fork; microwave on high power until tender, turning over once, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool; peel and mash.

Meanwhile, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Add celery, onion, corn and red pepper; sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

Stir bacon and milk into saucepan; stir in mashed potato and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; stir to combine. Cover and simmer 10 minutes (do not allow to boil). Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

* * *

My Edits

Serves:  2

Calories:  About 320

2 medium uncooked redskin potatoes  
1 spray cooking spray  
1/4 cup uncooked celery, chopped  
1/4 cup (chopped) uncooked onion
3 pieces corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife  
1/2 cup sweet red pepper, diced  
2 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
1.5 cups 1% milk  
salt and pepper to taste

Black Bean, Chicken and Red Pepper Stew

 
This is the original recipe. (and not my photo)
Below are my modifications.  I served it with a small quesadilla.  This was super easy and healthy, so you should try it.

Black Bean, Chicken and Red Pepper Stew
Serves- 4
Approx. Calories: 220 per serving
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1.5 chicken breasts, cut up into chunks
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/2 (12 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1.5 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken pieces and cook, stirring, until browned and cooked through.  Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil.  Add the onion to the pot and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.  Mix in the black beans, diced tomatoes, red peppers, green chiles, chicken broth, cumin, and cayenne.  Return the chicken to the pot.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Allow to simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.  When finished, remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper.

Chicken and Rice Soup

For once Matt requested soup for dinner.  I wasn't going to waste this opportunity since it rarely presents itself.  I had seen something similar to this but I expanded on it.  Perfect way to warm up!  Definitely hearty enough to have for dinner.  (sorry the picture sucks... my friend "borrowed" my kitchen light a year ago and hasn't returned it.... so the lighting in my house is really bad!)

Chicken and Rice Soup
Serves: 2+

Ingredients:
-Olive oil
-1 chicken breast cut into bite sized chunks
-salt and pepper
-1 tablespoon butter
-1/2 cup diced onion
-2 cloves minced garlic
-1 tablespoon flour
-1 tablespoon dried parsley
-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
-1 bay leaf
-1 can chicken broth
-1 1/2 cups of milk or half and half
-1 cup water
-1 cup instant rice (uncooked)
-1/2 small can sliced carrots (or fresh sliced if you aren't the lazy type)
-1 stalk celery sliced
-1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place chicken in the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook 5 minutes, until juices run clear. Remove chicken, and set aside.

2.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Melt butter in the pot. Stir in onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Stir in flour, and cook until lightly browned.

3.  Throw the chicken back in along with the broth, milk, thyme, parsley, Old Bay, carrots, celery and bay leaf.  Simmer 15 minutes. Then start step 4.

4.  In a Pyrex container, put the water in the microwave and heat to boiling (like 3-5 minutes).  Dump in the rice and stir.  Cover with foil and set aside for 5 minutes.  Fluff and dump into the soup.  Let it all mingle for a few minutes then serve.

**If the soup is too thick for you, just add another 1/2 cup or so of water until you get it the way you like.

Matt's No-Bean Spicy Venison Chili

Most of the time I make dinner at home. But one day Matt was sweet enough to say the HE wanted to buy the ingredients and make an awesome dinner... and boy did he ever! I am actually quite impressed with his skills. We both were! I told him if he is going to show me up in the kitchen like this he might have to take over cooking full time... apparently he didn't think that was funny. Warning: This is spicy. If you can't handle it, don't whine that I didn't warn you.


Matt's No-Bean Spicy Venison Chili
Serves: 4-6

1. In a large skillet, brown 1 pound of ground venison (or ground beef), 1 medium onion diced, 1 red bell pepper diced, and 1 green bell pepper diced. Drain the fat.

2. In a large pot, throw in the following:
+Meat mixture
+1 diced jalapeno pepper, seeds and all
+1 can (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
+2 cans (15oz) tomato sauce
+1 tablespoon ground cumin
+2 tablespoons chili powder
+1/4-1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (depending on how potent they are)
+salt & pepper to taste

3. Mixture will appear thick... don't think you are smart and add water or more sauce. Just wait. You can add this in about 10 minutes if you still think it is too thick. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.

4. Serve plain with some kind of starch (elbow macaroni, bread, biscuits etc). I like mine with some sour cream and shredded cheese. Delicious!

Semi Homemade Potato Chowder

Another good one from a blogger friend! Thanks Amy !! We had this with grilled cheese and some pickles. I am a big fan of Sandra Lee on the Food Network and her semi homemade food... but I never like the recipes, just the principle. So Amy I am putting this in that category. It is nice to have a recipe like this in your back pocket in case you need something simple and tasty.

Bacon, Cheese and Potato Chowder
Serves: 2 with lunch leftovers

3 cups fat-free milk (we used 2% because that's what I drink)
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup
2 cups frozen Southern-style hash browns (shredded)
1 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (all I had was a chunk of mild cheddar and some shredded colby jack... so that's what we used)
8 slices Bacon, crisply cooked, drained and crumbled (I am super lazy and used a 2.8oz bag of precooked and crumbled "for recipe" bacon... I would probably use less next time, maybe 2.0 oz)
*We added a few good grinds on the pepper mill

Mix milk and soup in large saucepan. Stir in hash browns. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in the bacon and cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 min., stirring frequently.

Garnish with parsley or green onions. Serve with fresh roll.

Beef Stew

Now I am not a huge beef eater, but I do like to throw some red meat into the mix every now and then because it makes Matt happy. This is an easy recipe that smells amazing when you come home from work.

Beef Stew
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients
*1-1 1/2 pounds of stew meat
*1/4 cup all purpose flour
*1 teaspoon salt
*2 teaspoons black pepper
*2 clove garlic, minced
*2 bay leaves
*2+ teaspoons paprika
*2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
*1 medium onion, chopped
*1-2 cans beef broth  (depending on how you like your stew)
*3 large redskin potatoes, chopped
*2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced
*1-2 stalk celery, sliced

Directions
1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat and stir to coat. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, worcestershire, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.

2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

3. If the stew is not thick enough for your liking about 30 minutes before serving, scoop out a ladleful of juice into a cup. Add about 1 tablespoon of corn starch and stir to dissolve. Mix into the stew. Wait about 5-10 minutes. If it is still too thin for you, repeat with the cornstarch until you are happy. Remove the bayleaves before serving. Enjoy!

Post Honeymoon Recovery Potion

You know you laughed at the title... Otherwise known as Chicken Soup. Matt and I returned from our amazing Jamaican honeymoon to crappy Michigan weather and we both caught colds!! So the only thing I have made from scratch as a wife is this soup. It is super easy and fast, but oh so good. So hopefully you have the chance to make this because you want to, not because you are sick.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Feeds: 3-4

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 small chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 box chicken broth
2 chicken boullion cubes
2 cups water
2 full cups wide egg noodles

1. In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the chicken chunks, onion, and garlic salt and cook until chicken is done. Add the celery and carrots, basil, oregano, and pepper. Cook for another 3 minutes or so.

2. Add the boullion cubes, water, and broth. Crank up to high heat and bring to a boil.

3. Once boiling, add the egg noodles and reduce to medium/ medium-low heat, but continue to simmer for about 20 minutes.

4. Serve with saltines or crescent rolls... or whatever will make you feel better!


Tips: I like to use kitchen scissors to cube up chicken breasts, so much easier! Also, I am lazy and like to buy the pre-cut into sticks carrots and celery that come in a container by the salad at the store. I have also used a small can of sliced carrots, just add them during the simmering part so they don't get too mushy. Hope that helps!