Friday, July 2, 2010

Creamy Goodness

This Pacific Northwest weather has us all going a little stir crazy doesn't it? It feels like fall, it looks like fall, we act like it's fall, I'm dressed like it's fall... so I figured let's eat like it's fall!

Nothing like a nice warm bowl of chowder with a hot buttery biscuit to warm you up on a dreary July day! Yep - it was raining at the time we sat down to dinner. And then my husband informed me he turned the heater on when he got up in the morning! AND... I read on Facebook that a friend did the same thing! It was July 1st... what's going on? Enough about that, here's the food!

Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder
2 tbsp butter (220 cal; 22g fat; 0g fiber)
1/4 cup onion, diced (14 cal; 0g fat; .5g fiber)
1/4 cup celery, thinly sliced (4 cal; 0g fat; .5g fiber)
1 Jalapeno pepper, diced (4 cal; 0g fat; 0g fiber)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour (50 cal; 0g fat; 0g fiber)
1 cup milk, fat free (90 cal; 0g fat; 0g fiber)
2 cups Half & Half, fat free (320 cal; 0g fat; 0g fiber)
1 lb chicken breast tenderloin, cooked and cubed
4 small corn-on-the-cob, kernals only (252 cal; 4g fat; 8g fiber)
1 can cream style corn (350 cal; 2g fat; 3.5g fiber)
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp salt
Dash red pepper flakes

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and jalapeno; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add the flour; cook for 1 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in the milk and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 5 minutes).
Serves: 6 Nutritional data per serving: 230 cal; 5g fat; 2g fiber

I tell ya, this stuff is awesome! It's so creamy and sweet you'll want to have way more than just one serving. Which is perfectly fine!! Check out the nutritional data for each serving... you can truly enjoy a whole bunch of this stuff!

Don't substitute the fresh corn for frozen - it WILL NOT work! The sweet crispy flavor and texture that the fresh corn adds to this recipe should not be messed with! Also, make sure you get the sweet corn with the light yellow or white kernels, you won't be sorry.

You can also modify it a bit to bring down the fat and calories by using all fat free milk instead of the half & half. I'll never do that - I love the creaminess too much. Having been on Adkins before I really miss all the cheesey creamy goodness so I take it where I can get it!

Of course, what is chowder without biscuits? The reduced fat Pillsbury Grands biscuits are perfect - the kids love making them and I love the mess!! Next time I'll include a low fat/low calorie cheddar biscuit recipe - this time, we had the canned variety!

Enjoy!