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!




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