Today, the front of my house looks like this:
So that means it’s a hunker down, lazy kind of Sunday. And on those kinds of Sundays, I like comfort food. And by comfort food, I mean soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, because what else feels as comforting as that on a snowy day? A pan of chocolate brownies doesn’t count since this blog is SUPPOSED to be about losing weight.
I have a recipe for a chicken corn chowder that is amazing, BUT, it requires practically a gallon of half-and-half (only a slight exaggeration) and so it’s NOT at all figure friendly. While I was stuck in the HELL that was my orthopedist appointment last week, I was thumbing through a 2-year-old Better Homes and Gardens magazine and found a corn chowder recipe with no cream. And it actually sounded wonderful.
So I wrote down the recipe, and today I tweaked it a little to add some Mexican flavor. The aroma of this soup cooking filled the house with the kind of comfort and joy you feel at the holidays. And since I saved so many calories and fat grams by leaving cream out of the chowder, I figured I could afford a little grilled cheese sandwich to go with it. And a little bit of shredded cheese on top of the soup.
This is the soup recipe the way I tweaked it. You tweak it anyway you like.
The stuff:
- 1 cup of chopped onions
- 1 cleaned and chopped leek
- 1 seeded jalapeno, finely chopped
- 5 cups frozen corn (about two 12 oz. bags)
- 28 oz. chicken broth
- 1 chopped red and green pepper
- Tbsp. olive oil
- Optional: Add a cup of cooked, cubed chicken pieces to make the soup more hearty (great way to use leftovers!)
- Cilantro for garnish
Sautee the onions, leek and jalapeno in 4 qt. Dutch oven with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add corn and half the broth. Bring to boil; reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Take off the heat and let the soup cool slightly. Put about half the soup in a blender and puree it or use an immersion blender and blend about half the mixture to thicken the soup; add the rest of the broth, the peppers and the chicken pieces. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Makes about six bowls of incredibly flavorful, rich soup that does not seem to miss the fat and calories of cream.
Top with fresh cilantro and a wee bit of shredded cheese if you like. I liked.
Okay this will sound weird but I LOVE your door! It was just so beautiful I think!
Food’s looking preeeetty good too.
Thanks, Maren! The door is actually new. We just replaced our old one last fall. The original door was black, and the door faces west, so it would get intensely hot in the afternoon sun. It got so hot the door frame buckled.
We chose this lighter color for a practical reason, but we love the way it looks, too.