Saturday, November 12, 2011

Chicken Cheddar Chowder

I found this recipe in the newspaper and decided to try it. It was the winning recipe in a Progresso soup contest submitted by Jennifer Borgesen of Waterford, MI. It's really good and most of the ingredients you'll probably already have on hand. 

Chicken Cheddar Chowder

2 whole Chicken breasts
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 cup Sweet Onion, chopped
1 Garlic clove, crushed
2 medium Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2/3 cup Whole Kernel Corn
1 tsp. minced fresh Thyme
1 tsp. minced fresh Sage
1/2 - 1 tsp. Sweet Paprika
2 - 3 cups Chicken Stock or Broth
2 Tbsp. all purpose Flour
1 cup Buttermilk (I used regular milk)
8 oz. (2 cups) shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook chicken breasts and cut into bite-sized pieces. Roast bell pepper until blackened on grill or under broiler (or used jarred red pepper slices!) Remove skin from bell pepper and cut into thin strips about 1" long.

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over med-low heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onions are softened. Add potatoes and corn; cook until onions and potatoes are light golden brown, stirring frequently.

Add chicken, bell pepper, thyme, sage, paprika, and enough chicken stock to cover potatoes. Cover, simmer 30 - 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender, adding additional chicken stock if necessary. Add flour to the buttermilk (milk) and beat with a wire whisk until smooth. Over low heat, stir flour mixture into the soup, cooking until thickened.

Stir 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, a handful at a time, into the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve soup, garnished with remaining cheese. Makes 9 cups or about 4 servings.

3 comments:

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  2. Try it with the buttermilk! That is the reason it won the contest. The tasters at Progresso loved that it was a unique ingredient that made the soup rich without adding fat. If you do not have buttermilk, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar to your milk before adding. It will thicken up and get that tart flavor to zing the recipe.

    - Jenn Borgesen, Waterford MI

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    1. Hi Jean -- thanks for visiting! I'm honored! I was just looking at this recipe again and trying to figure out how I might adapt it to meet my current dietary lifestyle (vegan ...) I was thinking of using mushrooms or even great northern beans in place of the chicken (I could probably leave it out completely and just increase the potatoes and corn) and just substituting soy or almond milk for the buttermilk. I'm not sure if there's a way to recreate the taste of buttermilk using soy -- I'll have to research that or maybe adding vinegar will have the same effect. I can use Daiya cheese shreds in place of the cheddar. I could use a no-chicken broth to get similar flavor. I had a corn and potato vegan chowder at a restaurant a while back and it was sooo good ... the best I'd ever had which is what got me thinking about this recipe :)

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