The temperature dropped about 15 degrees in the last couple of days. I’m now sporting pants and sweatshirts and shoes that require socks.  With this dip in the weather comes the longing for comforting and nourishing food that warms the belly.  SOUP.  I love soup of all kinds but it’s not the most popular in this house. I told the kids  they were getting Corn Chicken Chowder for dinner and surprisingly I was greeted with OHs and mmmmmms.

I’ve only ever had Corn Chowder from one place, WAWA.  While I always like it I knew it was missing a freshness. I also knew  it wasn’t at all healthy. I made my own soup using inspiration from several recipes found online and adapting to my own tastes, time and ingredients. The ingredient list looks long but most of it can already be found in your pantry and fridge.

Light but Creamy Corn Chicken Chowder

Ingredients

• 3 slices of uncooked bacon
• 2 cups of diced chicken (cooked or uncooked)
• 2 lbs diced potatoes
• 1 small diced onion
• 2 stalks diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced red pepper
• 3 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1 can cream style corn
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 -1 cup light half & half
• pinch of Cayenne

Directions

In a large stock pot or dutch oven add your bacon and turn the heat up to medium.  I add mine in whole slices but you can chop it before hand. It WILL be used at the end.

When the bacon has crisped and rendered all of its fat remove it and all but 1 TBLS of the grease.

Add the potatoes, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and stir into the bacon grease and sauté for a few minutes. If your chicken is raw now is a good time it to capture some of the yummy bacon flavor.

Once the chicken has mostly cooked through add in the rest of the veggies(except corn) the garlic and thyme. Cook for a several minutes till veggies soften then add corn and canned corn and salt and pepper if needed. If you are using cooked or leftover chicken now is the time to add it.

Add broth and simmer till potatoes are cooked through. Using a hand masher work through the soup to smash some potatoes, this will naturally thicken the soup instead of adding flour or cornstarch.

Add half & half and cayenne, stir and serve. Top with crumbled bacon.

Additional toppings could be sliced green onions, shredded cheese or sour cream.  The smashing of the potatoes and addition of SOME half and half make this a creamy soup without the guilt of heavy cream and lots of butter.  In fact besides the initial bacon slices there was additional oil added.  The key is to have flavorful ingredients.

Celery is key, switch other veggies to suit your tastes but don’t skip the celery.

I’m not a very good recipe writer mainly because I’m far from a professional chef; i don’t usually follow recipes, I cook what I like, sometimes whether or not the kids are going to like it or not. The other night using some of McCormick’s super spices and utilizing their dinner swap ideas I made this delicious Black Bean and Chicken soup. Tacos and a Black Bean Chicken Tortilla Stack are staples in our house but I wanted something different. This meal started out as just Black Bean soup but everytime I make soup Rob says how unfulfilling it is and he’s hungry within the hour. I added the chicken to this to make it heartier and I’m glad I did, it really kicked it up to something I would make again and again; regardless of anyone else’s tastebuds.

I mentioned I’m not a recipe writer so I’m going to write this in the order that I made the dinner.

In a large pot with about 1-2 inches of water and LOTS of pepper and ½ tsp onion powder, lightly poach 2 thawed chicken breasts. When I say lightly I mean turn the burner to low and let the chicken gently cook. I actually cooked them till they looked done on the outside but I knew they weren’t 100% done on the inside, that’s ok.

In the same pot (dump scummy chicken water) add

1 second Drizzle of Canola oil
1 diced large onion
2 diced celery stalks(I didn’t have any but wish I did)
1tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
Cook till softened then add
2 cans drained, rinsed black beans
1 ½ tsp McCormick cumin
¼ tsp McCormick cayenne or chili powder
1 tsp McCormick garlic powder
½ tsp Adobo seasoning
1 packet Sazon seasoning (orange box)
1 tsp McCormick dried oregano (crush in fingertips)
2 boxes of low sodium chicken stock

Gently simmer for 1 hour (tiny bubbles). While the base of your soup is simmering shred your chicken using 2 forks. I ended up using my hands towards the end, it’s easier that way.

Add 1 can of lightly drained diced tomatoes. I don’t usually get them flavored as I want to flavor my own food. Wait a couple minutes for everything to warm through and taste your soup. Now is the time to adjust your seasoning, I tend to add more cumin but I really love the smokiness. I also added a couple pinches of salt. Since you will be adding the chicken I make sure the soup is WELL seasoned; you can always add some water if it simmers down too much.

At this point the soup is ready. About 5-10 minutes before serving I drop in all of the chicken and turn up the heat to Medium-Low. This ensures the chicken is fully cooked and keeps everything piping hot. Serve with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions. Cilantro would go perfect with this but it gives me heartburn so I skip it. I served this with cornbread on the side. Warm, inviting and super easy once you get through all my yapping.