{Quick & Simple} Potato Corn Chowder

Hope you had a wonderful Easter this past weekend.  Ours couldn’t have been more perfect—started the morning off with church, some quality family time, and some beautiful Spring weather!  It was so nice to see the sun finally shining!  While Charlie, Emily, and Paisley are enjoying some family time, Emily asked if I would post our favorite potato soup recipe on their blog.  So this week, you get me, Emily’s mama, for a guest post!  I have big shoes to fill, but I couldn’t imagine an easier thing to blog about then “semi-homemade” potato corn chowder!  Hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as we have.  

As a full-time working mother, I always look for quick and easy recipes to keep on hand for quick dinners and always love a good warm soup on cold days or to fix when we go camping.  One day I stumbled across this great potato corn chowder recipe from Taste of Home (see link below).   Their website is a great tool for searching for new recipes.    

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Quick-Corn-Chowder-2

This recipe that started as a quick, working mom’s dinner that could easily be made because I usually had all the ingredients on hand.  From there, I started fixing it for family get-togethers, then I began fixing it when we went camping.  From there, it has now become a family tradition to have this delicious chowder at our annual Halloween celebrations—a quick warm dinner before heading out into the cool night air for some trick-or-treating!    Here are the ingredients you need to get started:

Quick Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
• 1 can (14-3/4 ounces) cream-style corn
• 2 cups milk
• 1 package (3 ounces) Philadelphia® Cream Cheese, cubed
• Pepper to taste
• Prep/Total Time: 20 min.
• Yield: 4-6 Servings

Our family adds the following ingredients to make this an even better chowder:

·         Shredded cheese 2 cups (we prefer Velveeta Shredded Cheese; use half of package in soup, melt until dissolved and creamy.  Use remaining half on top of soup.)

·         Top with crumbled bacon and more shredded cheese

·         We also use 4 cans of potato soup and double the milk to make it go farther and basically makes enough for 8-12 people.

·         I have also used the light cream cheese, light butter, and skim milk to make a lighter version that still tastes great.

Now that you have your ingredients ready, let’s get started: 

• In a large saucepan, sauté the following:

o    green pepper (In our family, we leave this out because Em and Charlie are not big green pepper fans!  Celery would also be good here.)

o    chopped onion (again, Em not a big fan of onions, so I chop them up real small and sneak them in for some great added flavor.  Em uses onion powder or dried onion flakes when she makes it), and

o    lastly, sauté garlic (I use the minced garlic if I don’t have fresh on hand) in butter (real butter adds a great homemade flavor) until tender. 

• Stir in the soup, corn, milk, cream cheese and pepper.  

• Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until cream cheese is melted. 

Here’s what the delicious chowder looks like once ready—creamy and delicious!  Top with crumbled bacon, green onions, extra shredded cheese, or soup crackers as you wish.

Hope you and your family love this quick and easy chowder as much as we have and may it now become a part of your family traditions!  Enjoy!