Poblano Corn Chowder AND Rice and Chicken Poblano Corn Soup

My husband loves this soup they have at Sams club, only it is a bit pricey for what you get. So, I set out to recreate it. The 2nd soup is the recreation, but I actually love the chowder version better. So, I'm posting both. You could totally do a hybrid of the two as well and do potato, rice, chicken AND bacon. It would be good :) I'd just add another cup of broth if I did that. Anyway, both were a hit so I'm posting both.

POBLANO CORN CHOWDER

• 2 cans corn, drained
• 1 can creamed corn
• 4 ounces bacon, diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large poblano chili pepper, roasted and chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 lb potato, peeled and diced. I've used yukon, red and yellow.
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives or thinly sliced scallions
• Pepper
• Salt

In a large stock pot cook your bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside in a medium sized bowl, reserving a small bit for toppings later. Leave about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot. Add the butter, onion, bell pepper, seasonings and cook until the onion and pepper are tender. Add the vegetable mixture to the bacon.

Place the corn kernels, potatoes and stock in the pot and turn the heat on high. Cover and boil for about 10 minutes. Use a hand blender to puree about 1/2 of the mixture, or to your desired consistency, leaving some potato chunks in tact.

Add the vegetable mixture, poblano pepper and creamed corn to the stock pot. Reduce the heat to medium low and season with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the cream.

Do not refrigerate until the chowder has cooled completely.

Serve with chopped chives, bacon bits and cheese.


RICE AND CHICKEN POBLANO CORN SOUP

• 1 can corn
• 2 cans creamed corn
• 6-8 ounces roasted chicken, cut into chunks.
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large poblano chili pepper, roasted
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 cup uncooked long grain wild rice
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Pepper
• Salt

Cook the butter, onion, bell pepper, and seasonings in a large stock pot until onions and peppers are tender. Add, rice, poblano pepper, corn and stock to the pot and turn the heat on high. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and put the lid on. Allow to simmer about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the creamed corn and cook an additional 5 minutes on medium heat to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat to add the cream.

Do not refrigerate until the chowder has cooled completely.

Serve with a corn tortilla or crushed tortilla chips and cheese.

Spanish Rice

This is my made up, on the fly Spanish rice. And, I use it to make a lot of different meals, which I will post about.

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 medium onion, chopped (I like onions so I used a large one)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 can black beans
  

Directions

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add rice, green pepper, garlic and onion and cook (about 5-10 minutes) stirring occasionally, until rice is golden brown and onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until rice is tender.


So... what can you do with this rice?

Well, you can use it as a side dish obviously and make Fajita's

Or, you can make a really simple and easy casserole. I use the leftovers to make a southwest chicken skillet casserole. I've never written down exactly what I do so I don't think a new entry is in order but basically...

Southwest Chicken Casserole

Take your left over rice and add 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of sour cream. Mix it up in a skillet. This isn't an exact science just mix it up to taste. Then add a can of corn to the mix. Then add some chicken. I usually use leftover chicken from another recipe but you could just grill some up real quick too and season it with taco or fajita seasoning or whatever you want. Then I warm it all up in a skillet and serve. It's pretty darn good.

Stuffed Peppers

Another thing you can do is mix the leftover rice with hamburger meat, a can of tomatoes and a can of corn. Stuff some bell peppers with the mix. Mix up some tomato sauce with a bit of brown sugar and pour that over the top of the peppers. Bake them in the oven at about 350 until tender.

Burritos
Obviously you can also make burritos with the rice. I just mix the rice with refried beans and cheese and heat. Roll mixture into tortillas and top with sour cream and diced tomatoes.

Chicken and Spanish Rice Soup

Any other favorites for using up leftover Spanish rice? Share them in the comments!

Chicken and Spanish Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded
• 4 cups leftover Spanish rice
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 15.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 15.5 oz. can chickpeas
• 2 cups corn
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin.
• 1 tbsp chili powder
  
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Water, to cover
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large stockpot over medium-low heat, cook carrots in olive oil until tender (about 10 minutes). Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add tomato paste, tomatoes and rice. Pour enough water or stock over rice to cover (add more if you prefer a thinner soup.) Add remaining ingredients and stir to Simmer 15 minutes.

Serve piping hot with some tortilla chips on the side.

Courtesy of Cooking by the Seat of my Pants

Slow Cooker Beef, Barley and Vegetable Stew

Perfect meal for a cold day and makes plenty so you can freeze a few batches too!

• 1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast - or any other cut of beef you'd like to use
  
• 1 cup barley
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cans corn
  
• 4 cups water
• 4 cubes beef bouillon cubes
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

If you want you can add a few diced potatoes to this too, or some cabbage. You can also use up whatever veggies you have on hand if you need to. Just think about what you'd like in your stew!

Put everything but the barley in your slow cooker and put on low for about 8 hours. Then, stir everything up and cut the meat into bite sized pieces if you need to. Add the barley and cook an additional hour on low. Serve with some warm crusty bread and enjoy!

Makes about 8 hearty servings.

Chicken Noodle Soup

The PERFECT lunch on a cold day. You'll have to bear with me though because I didn't follow a recipe, I just put it together on the fly :)

Last night I put 1 can of chicken broth and 4 - 5 cans of water (enough to cover everything) into the crock pot. I then put 3 large whole chicken pieces (bone in) into that. You could use boneless chicken breasts too, if you prefer.

Then add:

1 large chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 to 1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (I actually had some rotisserie seasoning I used)
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
2 bay leaves
1/2 lb wide egg noodles (more or less depending on how many you like in your soup)
salt and pepper

Put everything in the crock pot except the salt, pepper and egg noodles and turn it on low. Cook for about 8-10 hours. I did it overnight so we'd have it for lunch today.

Take the chicken pieces out making sure to get all the bones out too. Remove the bay leaves and toss. Cut the chicken up with a fork and toss the bones. While you are doing this the broth should have settled and you can skim any fat off the top with a spoon. Add the chicken back in. If it doesn't seem like you have enough liquid, you can add a bit more water. Put the egg noodles in and cook another 45 minutes or so on low, until the egg noodles are done. Serve and season to taste with salt and pepper.


This is an easy recipe to alter. Just leave things out you don't like. You can also add things like parsnips, potato, leak, dill...

Quick and Easy Potato Soup!

No peeling or dicing potatoes for this recipe, it calls for hashbrowns! I started with a recipe from the fix it and forget it 5 ingredient favorites cookbook and made a lot of modifications :) My husband said "This is the best soup you have ever made, ever. Is there more?"


3 cups chicken broth
2lbs bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoons pepper
1 chopped medium onion
1/2 pound chopped cooked bacon
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon dill
1 tablespoon chicken bullion
1 cup sour cream (you can use yogurt as well)
3 cups milk (I advise using at least 2%)
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it.

If making on the stovetop:

Put everything but the bacon and cheese in the pot and bring until it just starts to boil. Reduce heat and blend with a hand blender until smooth - or you can leave some chunks of potato. Add the bacon and simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes. Add in cheese and blend until smooth.

If making in the crockpot -

Place everything but the bacon and cheese in the crock pot. Saute the onions and set aside. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or until potatoes are soft. Blend the potato mixture with a hand blender until smooth - or you can leave some chunks of potato. Add in the bacon and cheese and blend thoroughly. Cover and cook on high until cheese melts and soup is hot.


I served this with some warm crusty bread and salad with italian dressing

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli - SOOOOOOO easy and yummy.

I got this from crockpot365.blogspot.com It is SOOO freaking good. Great with some crusty bread and salad and wonderful for a cold day.

--1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
--1/2 large red onion, chopped
--1 cup carrots, chopped
--2 celery stalks, sliced
--2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
--1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
--1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
--4 cups beef broth (check label for gluten!)
--1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
--2 tsp oregano
--1 T Tabasco sauce
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger crock pot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.

Brown the meat on the stove top, and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crock pot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese if you have it.