Soup's On!

It finally, mercifully cooled off here in Nashville. Now it actually feels like the beginning of Fall, instead of Summer Part II: The Sequel. And I really love Fall, because it includes some of my favorite things like football and hoodies and crunchy leaves and soup!

I tried a new soup recipe just a few days ago and it was so good I just had to share! I got it from a Paula Deen magazine, so I wouldn't call it a particularly healthy soup, but it is warm and hearty and really really yummy! Plus you could probably make it a little healthier with a few modifications and it is even vegetarian friendly, if you substitute (even accidentally, as I did) vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Here is the recipe, and then I'll mention the handful of modifications I made.

Potato Corn Chowder

• 1/2 cup butter


• 1 cup diced onion


• 1 cup diced carrot


• 1 cup diced celery


• 1 cup diced red bell pepper


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour


• 1 32-oz carton chicken broth


• 4 cups whole milk


• 6 cups quartered red potatoes


• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme


• 2 pounds frozen corn kernels


• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese


• 1 cup sour cream


• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt


• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper


• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.

Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and milk. Add potatoes and thyme; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add corn; increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese is melted. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

***

You can make it just like that, but if you're like me I needed to make some modifications. Here's what I did, whether by accident or necessity, but it still turned out deliciously.

Ingredients:

• I used dried minced onion instead of fresh diced, because I seriously loathe dicing onion. Just make sure to use the correct equivalent. Mine said 1 tablespoon was equal to about a 1/3 cup fresh.


• I used a pre-diced mix of red/yellow/green bell pepper, which I found in the fresh produce section of the grocery store. I also found pre-diced fresh celery. So handy!
  


• I love garlic, but didn't have any fresh or jarred, so I just gave a good shake of garlic salt. Not the same thing, but I had to make do.


• I accidentally bought and used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. It still tasted great!


• I accidentally bought (see the theme here) not enough whole milk so I ended up using 2 cups whole, 2 cups skim. Health bonus!


• When I quartered the red potatoes they still looked way too big. So I say, just cut the potatoes into chunky bite-size pieces.


• I had no thyme, fresh or otherwise. Oops.


• I used reduced fat (but not fat-free) sour cream


• I did not put in hot sauce. I figured Ben could add his own if he wanted.

Directions:

• I do not have a Dutch oven, so I just used a big stock pot and tried to control the temperature as needed.


• Also, in the step where I added the flour, the veggies sucked it up very quickly so I don't think I cooked them for the full 2 minutes suggested because I was afraid they would start to burn.


• The recipe didn't say, but it makes a LOT of soup. Ben had two full bowls, I had one, and I probably filled four good size tupperwares up with the leftovers.

I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as I did! Yummy and perfect for a crisp, cool fall evening!