Meatless Friday Recipes: Country Corn Chowder

Lenten Series: Meatless Friday Recipes
Today we continue our new Lenten series – Meatless Friday Recipes to help you keep your Lenten abstinence from meat. We are pleased that Tom Neeb, author of Taste the Flavor Cookbook and owner of Food Flavor Fun and Luxury Palate will be sharing some of his great East Texas roots' recipes. Tom is by profession an Information Technology geek/manager with a large financial services provider. In his spare time and by necessity, he learned to cook. Why? “Because I like to eat! I like food with great flavor… And who does not like to have fun?” Tom is passionate about sharing his love for good food, good friends and good times.  Tom is also a member of our local parish, St. Catherine of Siena, and a regular attendee at Joe Catholic. You can follow Tom's blog and all his great recipe ideas at Food Flavor Fun or on Facebook and Twitter.

Greetings from Food Flavor Fun
Hi everybody.  My name is Tom Neeb and I’m really excited to get the opportunity to share some great meatless recipes with you for your Lenten Friday.  A huge THANK YOU to Joe Catholic for allowing me this opportunity.

I’m so glad you’ve found your way here.  Welcome!  Welcome!  Welcome!

Hardy Chowder
This week, I’d like to share a simple and tasty Country Corn Chowder.  This hardy chowder makes a great meal.  Add some crusty bread to go along side and this will make for some very happy tummies.  I suggest doing all the chopping prep up front.  That makes it simple to pull this together quickly and easily.  After you chop the potatoes, remember to put them in a bowl and cover them with water so they don't discolor.  Just also remember to drain them really well before adding them to the pot. OK, enough talk….Let’s get to the recipe.

Country Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

·       1 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

·       1 medium onion, chopped

·       2 cloves garlic, minced

·       1 - 2 stalks chopped celery

·       ½ cup chopped bell pepper

·       1/8 teaspoon dried sage

·       ½ teaspoon dried oregano

·       ½ teaspoon dried thyme

·       6 cups water

·       6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

·       2 vegetable boullion cubes

·       1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or table salt)

·       1/2 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt

·       10-15 turns of fresh ground black pepper from your pepper mill (about a teaspoon)

·       3 – 4 cups fresh or frozen corn

·       1/2 cup green onion, chopped (just the tops or green part)

·       1/4 cup heavy cream

·       1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (optional)

Directions:
In a large stock pot over medium heat, add the butter and let it melt. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper and saute until the onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the dry herbs and stir for another minute.

Add the water, potatoes and the boullion cubes. I crush them with a fork to help them dissolve quickly. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender but not mushy.

Take the pot off the heat. Remove 2 cups of the potatoes from the pot and set aside.

Using a boat motor (hand-help blender) or a stand-up blender done in batches, process the contents of the pot until smooth.

Put the blended contents back into the pot over low-heat. Add the corn and reserved potatoes. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until the corn is tender, stirring to insure that the chowder does not stick.

Add the green onion tops along with the heavy cream and dill. Give the chowder a taste and re-season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!