Chicken and Corn Chowder

 

I’ve been in the kitchen experimenting today.  My favorite thing about the new Weight Watchers Freestyle program is the list of items that are now zero points.  Using that list, I wanted to see if I could come up with a recipe for a Weight Watchers friendly Chicken and Corn Chowder.  Chowder is typically a cream based soup but if this was a cream based soup I wouldn’t be here referring to it as a Weight Watchers friendly recipe, so just allow me my broad definition of chowder…   🙂

Another thing about a traditional chowder is it’s a thick, hearty soup.  I did some research on thickening alternatives, and one of the things I saw was dry potato flakes so I decided to give it a shot.  And it did make it thicker!  It’s still not “chowder thick” by any means, but between the potato flakes, the corn and the potatoes there’s enough starch in it to add some thickness.  It’s even thicker the following day, and speaking of the following day this is definitely one of those soups that gets better with time!  The next day all the flavors have fused together into tasty goodness so save the leftovers, or even make it a day ahead!

I used my Alonti-Inspired Italian Wedding Soup recipe as my jumping off point for this recipe.  That is my favorite soup in the world but definitely not Weight Watchers friendly so I just used the same soup basics and changed it up from there.

And this is the info you’ve all been waiting for……a cup of this chowder is only ONE POINT!  I didn’t get it down to zero points like my Arizona Taco Soup recipe, but it’s close!  Note:  I’m calculating the points PER SERVING.  That doesn’t mean there are no points in the entire recipe.

An alternative to this Chicken and Corn Chowder is to substitute the chicken for lump crab meat and it becomes a Crab and Corn Chowder!  No other changes are needed, just substitute the chicken for the crab.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 3 stalks of celery
• 1/3 bunch of Italian parsley
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 tsp Creole seasoning (if you want a little more zing, add two teaspoons.  If you don’t want zing, omit the Creole seasoning)
• 1 tbsp Brummel & Brown spread
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 2 cans of corn
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes)
• 2 cups chopped white meat rotisserie chicken (skin removed)
• 4 cups of water
• 12 oz fat free skim milk
• 1/2 cup dry potato flakes
• salt and pepper

Here’s how you’ll make it…

Chop up the celery, parsley and onion…

I’m weird.  I find chopping vegetables therapeutic.   And I like my ingredients finely chopped instead of coarsely chopped.  You can see how small the celery is in the picture below.  The onions got a little more chopping after I took the pic!  Something I can’t live without when chopping vegetables is my bench scrape.  It makes scooping up every last piece so easy!

I chopped the Italian parsley very fine as well.   Nothing like enjoying a spoonful of soup and getting a big green piece of parsley stuck to your teeth!  I’m conducting an experiment on the parsley.  I chopped the top third and used that in the soup.  Then I chopped up the rest, put it in a baggie and I froze it.  I have no idea if that works but I’ll let you know next time I make soup!

Put the Brummel and Brown in the pot and set to a medium heat (#4 on my electric stove).  When it’s melted add the onions, parsley, Creole seasoning and celery.  Cook until the celery is tender.

When the celery is tender, add the chicken stock, garlic, bay leaves, potatoes and corn (undrained).  Let reduce at the same heat setting.  Reduce down to where the ingredients are no longer covered by the broth.

Add the water and chicken and remove the bay leaves.  Continue cooking until the potatoes are tender.

Reduce heat and add milk and dry potato flakes.  Continue to cook on low (#2 setting on my electric stove), stirring occasionally, for another 20 minutes or until soup thickens a little.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

My favorite soup storage…

As the name of my blog suggests, I don’t have a big family to feed.  It’s just Jack and me, and he’s not much of a Chicken and Corn Chowder guy.  He’s just an old, blind man who wears a diaper.  You can see how excited he is about my soup today.

So when I make a big pot of soup I need a good way to store it.  I love these little containers.  I have a million of them!  They hold two cups, they have a line at the one cup mark and they microwave and freeze beautifully.  You can often find them at your grocery store but if not, you can buy them here.

I hope you like this Chicken and Corn Chowder.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Oh and hey, if you want to put it over the top add a big pinch of grated cheddar to your bowl.  It’s totally worth the extra two points (for 1/8 cup)!

Happy tinkering,

Susan