Green Chile Corn Chowder

This is a great recipe for corn chowder with a little kick from green chiles.

Green Chile Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 32 ounce container vegetable broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans creamed corn
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• ½ cup shredded or sliced carrot
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• 2 cup milk
• 2 cans green chiles
• 2 small red potatoes, cubed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pinch salt

 

Directions

1.    In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onions and celery in butter 3 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook 6 minutes more, until light brown. Whisk in broth and simmer 10 minutes.

2.   Stir in creamed corn, potatoes, corn, carrot, half-and-half, milk, pepper and salt. Simmer over low heat 20 minutes more or until potatoes are fork tender.

Overall

This is a great way to warm up on a cold day.  The green chile adds a slightly spicy flavor and the vegetable broth makes it taste like its been cooking all day.

Frugality

The onion was $1, the corn was 3 for $1.50, the half and half was $1.50 and the vegetable broth was $2.50 from Fresh and Easy.  Everything else was on-hand.  The total for this pot of soup is $5.50!

Look Forward To

I have brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower to use.  

Minestrone

This is one of my favorite recipes.  It’s a great combination of some of the greatest flavors:  onion, tomato, basil, zucchini, potato and pasta.  The longer you cook this soup, the better it tastes.  You will definitely enjoy this one!

Minestrone

Ingredients

¨            2 large cans of stewed tomatoes with basil

¨            2 large onions, chopped

¨            Extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat bottom of soup pot)

¨            3 red potatoes, cleaned and cubed

¨            5 medium zucchini, peeled and sliced

¨            1 bunch of swiss chard, cleaned and torn into pieces

¨            ½ pound rotini pasta, prepared according to directions

¨            ¼ pound parmesano reggiano, cut into ½ inch cubes

¨            Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1.    In large soup pot, coat bottom of pan with olive oil.  Heat and add onions, cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. 

2.   Add canned tomatoes and 2 cans of water.  Heat for about 15 minutes.

3.   Add potatoes and cook until fork tender.

4.   Add zucchini and cook until fork tender.

5.   This is the point where you should cook as long as possible.  I usually let this mixture simmer for at least 3 hours.

6.   About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve, add swiss chard, 1 more can of water, the pasta and the cheese.  Cook until swiss chard is softened and slightly darkens.

7.   Serve with Parmesan cheese over the top of your soup.

Overall

This is a lengthy, time-consuming recipe that is worth every minute.  The result is a full pot of deliciousness.  This is my interpretation of a classic Sicilian recipe passed down in my family for years.

Frugality

The onion was $.88 for the pound, the swiss chard was $1.29, the zucchini was on sale for $.77, the potatoes were $1.50, the canned tomatoes were each $1.89, the cheese was about $5, and the pasta was $1.50.  The total for this entire pot is about $14.50.  Well worth it!

Look Forward To

I still have a broccoli to use and there’s a shopping trip in my near future.

Avgolemono (Greek Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup)

So my question today was what do I want for dinner?  Completely uninspired and close to grabbing take-out, I asked a co-worker and he suggested Egg Drop Soup….which got me thinking that I haven’t had Avgolemono (Greek lemon orzo soup) –also has eggs in it- in years.  I’ve been a vegetarian for 13 years so it has been at least that long, as it’s usually made with a whole chicken as the base for the broth.  I started this recipe by looking online at recipes and really didn’t find one I liked.  So, I called my mom and she and I worked out a new recipe while on the phone for a good hour.  Here is what we came up with, enjoy!

Vegetarian Lemon Orzo Soup (Avgolemono)

Ingredients

o   2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

o   1 large onion, chopped

o   3-4 large carrots, chopped

o   A head of celery, chopped

o   8 cups of water

o   1 tablespoon dried dill weed

o   ½ tablespoon dried oregano

o   1 cup orzo

o   3 eggs

o   The juice of 2 lemons

o   Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1.    Heat EVOO in large soup pot, add veggies and sweat them out for a few minutes.

2.   Add 8 cups of water and bring to slow boil.  The longer you cook this, the better broth you will end up with.

3.   While veggies are cooking, prepare 1 cup of orzo according to directions on the box.

4.   Use immersion blender or food processor to break down big pieces of veggies when broth is ready (broth should cook for at least ½ hour).

5.   Add orzo to prepared vegetable broth.

6.   In separate bowl, whip eggs and add lemon juice.  Slowly add a few tablespoons of the broth to the lemon egg mixture at a time, to avoid curdling the eggs.  Do this until the lemon mixture is hot enough to add to soup pot without cooking the eggs.

7.   Add salt to taste and enjoy!

Overall

At first I wasn’t sure about this recipe, I was going for a very specific taste when I set out to make this.  Once the soup cooled down and I added enough salt to take the place of the missing chicken, it was divine!  I will absolutely make this again.  Next time I might consider roasting the veggies before adding the water for a richer flavor.

Frugality

The onion was probably about $.50, the carrots were $.44, and the celery was $.88 all from Sprouts.  I had the spices and eggs on hand.  The lemons were $.84 and the orzo was $1.50 from Fresh and Easy.  The total for this big pot of soup came out to $4.16.  A great deal!!

Look Forward To

Doing something with all of these plums, nectarines and tomatoes…I’m thinking of plum oat muffins and maybe a homemade tomato sauce but that could change with my mood.