Chicken Corn Chowder

I had planned to make chicken & barley soup for dinner tonight until I discovered that there is no barley in the house. After a quick search, I read through a couple of chicken corn chowder recipes. Finding none of them to my liking, I (of course) deviated and came up with this recipe. This time I used too many to list every one, but the majority of the recipes I read were some variation of Paula Deen's corn chowder.

Chicken Corn Chowder

• 1 stick butter
• 1 bag Recipe Beginnings mirepoix mix (Kroger brand)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 1 qt chicken broth (4 cups)
• 2 medium potatoes, chopped into small cubes
• 1 12 oz bag frozen sweet corn kernels
• 1 cup chicken, cooked and chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream (or half & half, or milk - your preference)
• dash of nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, combine chicken broth and potatoes.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until potatoes are soft.
2. Add corn and chicken to potatoes and broth.  Cook until warmed.
3. Melt butter in a heavy pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the mirepoix mix and garlic, saute for about five minutes.
4. Add the flour and stir to make a roux.  Cook for about 3 minutes.
5. Slowly add about one cup of the potato broth to the roux, whisk until smooth.
6. Pour remaining broth, potatoes, corn, and chicken into roux mixture.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
7. Add seasonings and cream.  Heat through.

I used an herb-roasted rotisserie chicken from Kroger in this recipe, but any cooked chicken will work.  Of course, fresh vegetables would be even better than the frozen Kroger variety, but they are so inexpensive, so tasty, and make for such light work I can't seem to break myself of the mirepoix mix.  For the corn, I'd definitely use fresh or frozen in place of canned because the texture will be heartier.

Anyone ever added cheddar cheese to this?  I'm thinking that would take it up to the next level...

~ Enjoy!




Merissa at Little House on the Prairie Living hosts an Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange every Tuesday.  If you have a recipe to share you can link your blog post or you can post in the comments.  CLICK HERE to go to this week's exchange!

 

Go ahead, you know you want to look!

Shrimp Étouffée for Mardis Gras!

 It all started with the King Cake...

(Yes.  This is the last piece.)

On a whim, I bought a King Cake from Tea Squares in Bowling Green.  I haven't had a good King Cake in years and the ones they sell at Kroger are sorely lacking.  My ability to make anything requiring yeast is also sorely lacking.  It was a no-brainer to order this delicious treat and bring it home for dinner.

And with King Cake for dinner, what else would you serve but Crawfish Étouffée?!

I've never made this at home.  Ever.  I've never even thought about making it at home.  Yet, after perusing a hundred different recipes (Immediately ruling out any that used canned cream of whatever soup - how can they use that and call a recipe 'authentic'?) I realized that making this it home would actually be easy.

If it weren't for the ice storm.  Thankfully, I had shrimp on hand in the freezer (we take our shrimp seriously around here) and chicken stock to sub for the seafood stock.  I also had to leave out the green onions, but I left them in the recipe because I would much have preferred to include them.

I forgot to get a picture of the finished dinner, but isn't this picture of the vegetables pretty?  The original recipe called for green peppers, but I really hate green pepper.  The red, yellow, and orange add such beautiful color, not to mention taste much better.  I had an orange pepper in the fridge, but next time I would be tempted to use yellow for more color.
 

Shrimp Étouffée

• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped orange bell pepper
• 1/2 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined

      Cajun Seasoning Mix

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)

1. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the seasoning mix. Set aside.
2. In a large heavy skillet or dutch oven, make a roux by heating the oil over medium high heat.
3. Add the flour, whisking until smooth. Continue whisking until a peanut butter roux is achieved, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions, celery and bell pepper; cook 2 minutes.
5. Add green onions, garlic and seasoning mix; cook an additional 5 minutes.
6. In a separate saucepan, bring the stock to a boil.
7. Gradually add boiling stock to roux mixture, whisking with each addition until dissolved. Return to a boil, stirring often.
8. Reduce heat to low; cook 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
9. During the last few minutes of cooking time, place the butter and shrimp in a microwave-safe dish. Cover loosely and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until the butter has melted. Stir to combine.
10. Gently fold shrimp mixture into stock mixture.

Serve over hot rice with French bread and hot sauce.
Serves 4.


While this is my own recipe, follow the links to my inspiration:
Crawfish Étouffée
Simple Cajun Seasoning Recipe


This is the best new recipe I've tried in ages.  And so simple!  Even my non-shrimp-eating picky eater loved it, although she just ate the sauce over rice without the shrimp.

And the King Cake was the Best. Ever.   Nothing like fresh from the bakery. :)


~ Enjoy!




Merissa at Little House on the Prairie Living hosts an Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange every Tuesday.  If you have a recipe to share you can link your blog post or you can post in the comments.  CLICK HERE to go to this week's exchange!

 

Go ahead, you know you want to look!