Corn Chowder and the Bad Gardener « It's Not Easy Eating Green. If you are regular reader of this blog, you may remember that I consider myself the world’s worst gardener.
Every spring I start thinking about what to plant, always full of hope and sure that this is the year I’m going to actually grow something and reap the fruits (and veggies) of my labor. This year my season’s worth of efforts reaped six grape tomatoes and two pods of okra for us humans. The wildlife ate well though. The chipmunks ate all the seeds, the groundhog ate the basil, and the deer ate every-stinking-thing else. They even eat the green tomatoes once they reached some mysterious deerlicious state. So you’re probably not too surprised that I don’t try to grow my own corn. Alas, my reality is weekly trips to the local farmer’s market. Equipped with a slab of salt pork and a quart of cream, pretty much anyone can make good chowder.
I cut out some, but not all, of the fat by switching from cream to half and half and cutting back on the amount. Cabot Cloth-Bound Cheddar For soup: Blissfully Delicious. Would you believe me if I told you that I have never had a homemade beef stew?
I probably had some version of it from the can, and it would have been a LONG time ago. And I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t very good. Because when Red kept on suggesting Beef Stew for our meal planning, I have never agreed to it, until recently, about two weeks ago. Just like this Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff, which I ended up loving – and now shows up on a regular basis on our menu rotation. Seriously, the ONLY reason that I was willing to give this a go was because I got to use my slow-cooker. As a pessimist to the initial idea of Beef Stew (in a slow cooker nonetheless), I was pleasantly surprised at how scrumptious this stew turned out. Directions Pat dry the beef cubes with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining 2 tsp oil, onions and 1/4 tsp salt to the skillet and cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Yield: 6-8 servings. Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Monday, November 28, 2011 Broccoli Cheddar Soup Move over Panera!
There’s a new soup chef in town… Broccoli Cheddar Soup has long been a favorite of mine since the middle school days of my mom taking us to the local TGIF Friday’s after school back in the day… I. Just. Then I grew up and now get my fix with Panera Broccoli Cheddar. Anyhow, we get out of Church around 10:30 and head on over where I ALWAYS try to order the soup… one time they told me the it wasn’t ready (Not ready? Well, I now have a panic attack every time wondering whether or not they’ll serve me my beloved soup. Not to toot my own horn, but this version of Broccoli Cheddar is by far my favorite to date (dare I say it, better that the ‘aforementioned’ varieties)! I am already looking forward to eating the leftovers for my lunch today (drool). Corn & Cheese Chowder. Last week, I whipped up three yummy soups, all perfect for Halloween night and all guaranteed to: 1.
Give your trick-or-treaters a nice warm head start before they take off on their quest to fill their bags to the brim with candy 2. Possibly cut down on the number of pieces of candy your child will consume while he is trick-or-treating 3. I can’t think of a third thing. Today’s recipe is a scrumptious, thick, delicious corn chowder made extra luscious with cheese. (In a moment of soupy serendipity, at the exact time I was cooking my Halloween soups last week [Broccoli Cheese among the three varieties] A Cozy Kitchen posted this beautiful broccoli-cheese bread bowl on the Tasty Kitchen Blog. And now. The Cast of Characters: Butter, chopped onion, bacon pieces (either uncooked or cooked), fresh corn kernels, diced bell pepper (I used yellow, orange, and red; pretty!) In a good-sized pot, saute the chopped onions in butter. Next, throw in the diced bell peppers… Next goes the corn. And now.