If you live in Nashville, you’ve probably come to understand that around here weather is an event. A major event. If the winds are gusting 15 mph, the local meteorologist will break into your episode of The Good Wife and tell you to run for cover!

It’s no better with snow. If it’s going to snow next Tuesday, we may as well cancel school for the whole week. I can’t even imagine what will come of the deep freeze headed our way. My general rule of thumb is to not trust a meteorologist who does the weather in a cocktail dress…just saying.

Corn & Potato Chowder with Candied Bacon

2014-01-05 09:52:27

You would never guess that this creamy chowder is made with a roll of Pictsweet Cream Corn.

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For the corn & potato chowder

1. 1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
2. 2 tbsp olive oil
3. 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
4. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5. 1-160z. frozen roll of Pictsweet Cream Corn, defrosted
6. 1 cup white corn, fresh or frozen
7. 4 cups vegetable broth
8. 1 medium baking potato, peeled and diced small
9. 1/2 cup half and half
10. salt and pepper

For the candied bacon

1. 2 baking sheets lined with aluminum foil
2. 1 package bacon
3. 1/2 cup brown sugar, light
4. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat until butter melts.
2. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, then saute until tender.
3. Stir in 1/4 cup of flour to make a roux and continue to stir for about a minute.
4. Pour in 4 cups of vegetable broth, stirring well.
5. Add potatoes and bring to a simmering boil.
6. Cook until potatoes are tender and falling apart.
7. Gently mash up potatoes (they don't have to be completely mashed, just enough to add some thickness).
8. Add the defrosted roll of Pictsweet Cream Corn and 1 cup of white corn, fresh or frozen.
9. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
10. Stir in half and half, then season again with salt and pepper.
11. Turn on low while you prepare the candied bacon.
12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
13. After lining baking sheets with aluminum foil, lay bacon out flat on the baking sheet.
14. Mix together brown sugar and cayenne pepper.
15. Generously rub both sides of the bacon with the brown sugar mixture.
16. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
17. I like my bacon more on the crispy side, so leave in longer until its cooked like you prefer.
18. Remove bacon from oven.
19. Transfer the pieces of bacon to a wire rack and let completely cool.
20. The bacon will harden like it has a candy coating.
21. Crumble a piece of candied bacon on top of each serving of chowder.
22. The bacon can be store in an airtight container.

http://lolleighcooks.com/

 The secret to this delicious chowder is the roll of frozen Pictsweet Cream Corn, it’s as close as you can get to real thing! One of my other favorites is The Fresh Market Silver Queen Corn. You’d never guess that this thick and creamy chowder is much lower in fat than a traditional chowder recipe.

Stay Warm!

I am not a fan of February. It’s a dreary month, looking out the window to month old snow, flurries won’t quit and freezing temperatures make me want to relocate to a tropical locale. Instead, I find my self making pot after pot of vegetable soup and hoping for an early spring.

Last February I was 9 months big and pregnant, there was record snow fall, my 87-year-old neighbor kept me company and I watched the entire winter olympics. Needless to say, I didn’t leave the house much so I would wait for my husband to come home and beg him to go Cracker Barrel. In the twenty times we went, I ordered the same thing every time - bowl of veggie soup and a big side of those sourdough croutons that are covered in butter.

I know for sure that my Cracker Barrel dinner did not ring in under 300 calories but my version does even with a biscuit!

Recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 to 3/4 lb lean stew meat

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

6 cups water

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

2 large new potatoes, diced with skin on

3 carrots, chopped

1 cup green beans, frozen

1 cup lima beans, frozen

1/2 cup corn, frozen

1/2 cup peas, frozen

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

Heat oil over medium-high in a large stock or soup pot. Add onion, meat, salt and pepper. Brown meat quickly then add broth and water bringing to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Add carrots, potatoes and crushed tomatoes to pot and continue simmering for 30 more minutes. Meat should be getting more tender and potatoes and carrots will be softening.

Add the rest of the vegetables, bay leaf and season again with salt and pepper. Simmer at least another hour before serving. If more liquid is needed just add water. The longer the soup cooks the better it will taste. Take out the bay leaf before serving.

Recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp butter, melted

2/3 cup beer, I used Michelob Ultra

1/2 cup low-fat or 2% cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a small bowl. Combine beer and sugar then add to flour mixture, then add butter and combine. Add cheese and stir well.

This will make a sticky dough. Just drop spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 8-10 biscuits

Notes:

Using My Food Diary’s recipe builder, the soup is about 100 calories for a one cup serving and each biscuit is around 100 calories with 3 grams of fat.

One of my favorite places to shop is The Fresh Market, if you have one nearby go take a look. They have these fabulous frozen vegetables including Silver Queen Corn! Yep, Silver Queen Corn frozen and there all year round.

The first time I ever had black bean soup was in Puerto Rico. That set the bar pretty high as far as black beans soups go. It was the most exotic thing I had ever eaten. It had a subtle heat, served with a side of rice and a delicious pineapple salsa.

So while enjoying my new-found love of black beans, my sister was honing her skills as a card shark and gambler. Sister was a marvel at poker and relentless at the blackjack table. She would come running up with buckets of money flaunting her skills.

 As we strolled through the casino one afternoon, she asked me for a quarter and I did what any good sister would do. So the quarter changed hands and into the slot it went. There it was, that secret talent. She won the $500 jackpot then turned to me and flipped the quarter back into my hand  and said ”thanks for letting me borrow that quarter”.

Recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 15 oz. cans black beans, pureed

2 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup salsa, good quality

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

pepper to taste

32 oz low-sodium chicken broth

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Saute onions, carrots and celery for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook for a minute more.

Reduce heat and add pureed black beans and whole black beans. Stir in spices and combine well with bean mixture. Add in chicken broth, stir well. Simmer for 30 minutes before serving.

Chipotle Cream:

3 tbsp 0% Fage greek yogurt

2 tbsp light sour cream

1 chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce

Put ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Chill before serving.

Serve soup with a scoop of brown rice, a drizzle of chipotle cream and chopped cilanto.

Notes:

I am picky about salsa. The best jarred salsa I have found is called Texas-Texas and can be found at The Fresh Market.

This soup gets better with age. I usually make it a day ahead, store in fridge and then reheat before serving.

 Being from Tennessee and after living many years in Texas – I have learned my way around a bowl of Chili! And since it is a cold Ohio winter, I can’t think of a better way to introduce my first recipe adventure.

I like chili with beans it just adds more texture than the all beef version. Using lean ground turkey breast makes this  delicious lowfat version. You can use the regular ground turkey with the 93/7 fat content but I was going for a super lean bowl of chili.

And of course for those of you who like more heat – just add more cayenne until you get it where you want it. Eyes watering and nose running!

Recipe:

Cheddar-Jalapeno Cornbread Croutons

2 cups self-rising cornmeal

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups lowfat buttermilk

2 tbsp canola oil

2 jalapenos, seeded and diced

1/2 cup lowfat (2%) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together first 5 ingredients until well blended. Then add in jalapenos and cheese.

Pour into a loaf pan prepared with non-stick spray.

Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour. The bread will pull away from the sides when it is done – and it never really gets brown on top.

You can make this a day ahead for the croutons.

Croutons:

Cut bread into 1 inch x 1inch pieces and toast on  a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 5-8 minutes until toasty.

Recipe:

Healthy Turkey Chili

1 tbsp. canola oil

1/2 large sweet yellow onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb lean ground turkey

salt and pepper

3 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 – 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 – 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 – 15 oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

3 cups low sodium tomato juice

In a large, heavy soup pot heat oil over medium-high heat, add onions and cook for two minutes or until tender, add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.

Add turkey, salt and pepper to taste and cook throughly.

Add spices, tomato paste and worcestershire sauce to the cooked meat and stir to make sure spices are worked in and then add the rest of the ingredients, stirring well.

Let chili simmer on low heat for 1 hour.

Top with Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread Croutons!