Chicken Corn Chowder

My favorite website is All Recipes . com. Very good resource for recipes. Well I found one today that was Corn chowder. I had some left over heavy cream from a previous squash soup, so I wanted to use this in a chowder.

5 star recipe! This was very delicious and indistinguishable from the restaurant. When I say restaurant, I mean Cosi which also has very good Corn chowder on Mondays. This is just as good, very easy to make and cheap.

INGREDIENTS

* 2 1/2 cups milk
* 1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
* 1 3/4 cups frozen corn
* 1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
* 1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

My changes:
2 pounds of chicken breast and extra corn. I really used 2 cups of fat free milk and half cup of heavy cream. Evens the fat out. Super fantastic, you just plop them all together and put on low for 6 hours or high for 4, but I like low. I didn't even use salt.



http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooked-corn-chowder/Detail.aspx

Black popcorn

This is not a recipe. I love stove top popcorn. 1.5 cup of raw popcorn and 3 tablespoon of oil (olive is OK, Canola better, coconut delicious).

I went to the fancy rich people kitchen store and saw black popcorn!

(You thought I was going to say black people didn't you.)



It was really called Black Jewel. Hull less popcorn, whatever that means. I have always thought that meant no more popcorn stuck between my teeth. No such thing.

First off, it pops white. Black popped popcorn would indicate some sort of vile mold or disease. But popped, they are the tiniest, puniest, saddest popcorns I have ever seen. Because they pop white, but still have a hint of black, they look burnt.

Terrible! Stay away and return it to the store if you receive this for Christmas.

Red Wine Pot Roast with Honey and Thyme

Red Wine Pot Roast with Honey and Thyme

Couldn't find bottom round roast, got something that sounded similar. Sorry I couldn't remember, I want to say "Round rump" roast, but I'm afraid that may not be a real meat and want to deter anyone from asking their butcher and experiencing an awkward moment.

I just got a Le Creuset Dutch oven, ahem, French oven and wanted to try it out. A stew is a perfect combination of stove top and oven cookware that I wanted forever to try.

Conclusion: I haven't found a stew that I liked quite yet. This seems like waste of red wine. Way too many potatoes. Potatoes are so bland and tasteless; I overdid it by half a pound. Maybe I should really salt the whole thing or, use fewer potatoes. I wonder if MSG would really turn this around. Stews are also very unattractive. Nobody wants to eat a brown sludgy substance that resembles wet dirt.


1 bottom round roast, about 4 pounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 small onions, medium diced
1 head garlic (about 10 to 12 cloves), lightly smashed
1 pound carrots (about 4 medium), cut roughly into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
2 cups medium-bodied red wine
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 to 2-inch cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season roast with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over high heat for a couple minutes. Add the meat and brown well on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove and set aside on a plate. Lower heat to medium and saute onions, garlic, and carrots for 5 minutes. Add the broth, wine, honey, and thyme, stir to combine, and then add the roast back to the pot.

Cover pot and transfer to oven. Bake for 2 hours, turning the meat over twice. Add the potatoes to the pot and bake, uncovered, for another 30 to 45 minutes longer until both the potatoes and the meat are fork-tender.

Too many potatoes!


http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_33765,00.html

Pea Soup II

Ok, I love making soup. This pea soup was very little work, but looks like vile. It feels like vile. Watery mashed potatoes. Going back to hand blender and frozen peas kind of soup.

Rosemary bread from Giant is delicious! I am very surprised by its softness and fragrant aroma. Sprinkle with olive oil and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes or toast twice.

INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 pound dried split peas
* 1 pound ham bone
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium pot, saute onions in oil or bacon grease. Remove from heat and add split peas, ham bone or chopped ham. Add enough water to cover ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.

2. Cover, and cook until there are no peas left, just a green liquid, 2 hours. While it is cooking, check to see if water has evaporated. You may need to add more water as the soup continues to cook.

3. Once the soup is a green liquid remove from heat, and let stand so it will thicken. Once thickened you may need to heat through to serve.

Picture says it all. Yes, there is a bite taken out of the bread in this picture. I never found the culprit.

Recipe at:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/split-pea-and-ham-soup-i/detail.aspx