My friend Mary McElveen, a fine poet, great cook, and fun person in general, offered me this vegetarian soup recipe, which I’m looking forward to trying out, maybe even this weekend, if I can figure out how to turn the three pound bag of frozen corn in my freezer into an equivalent qty of “creamed corn.”
Mexican Corn Chowder
(Recipe by Mary McElveen)
- 1Tbsp. butter or margarine
- ½ c. chopped onion
- 2 c. peeled and diced potatoes
- 1 c. water
- ½ tsp. dried whole basil
- 2 c. milk (can substitute half-and-half for part of this)
- 2 (17-oz). cans cream-style corn
- 1 (14-1/2 oz.) can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 1 (4 0z.) can green chilies, chopped, undrained
- ½ c. diced sweet red pepper
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
- 1 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Put butter in deep 3-qt. casserole; microwave uncovered at HIGH for 35 sec. Or till melted. Stir in onion; microwave, uncovered at HIGH for 3-4 minutes or till onion is tender. Add potatoes, water and basil; cover with heavy-duty plastic wrap and microwave at HIGH for 12-15 minutes or till potatoes are tender, stirring every 5 minutes.
Stir in milk, corn, chopped tomatoes, green chilies, red pepper, salt and pepper. Cover and microwave at HIGH for 5-6 minutes or till thoroughly heated. Stir in cheese and reduce to MEDIUM-LOW (30% power); cover and microwave 5-6 minutes or till cheese melts, stirring after 3 minutes. Serve immediately.
(This is given with microwave directions, but could be adapted, I’m sure…)