It’s the last weekend in our household that the entire family will be together for Christmas. Cole is taking a road trip to New York City for a few days before Christmas, so I felt the pressure to get festive. All the things I keep putting off, some really important things like getting a Christmas tree, needed to happen. True to everything I do, I over plan the weekend and then abandoned 90% of it when I start to get overwhelmed. All the important stuff still happened: Santa was visited, a Christmas tree was bought, the house is decorated (as decorated as it is going to get with a hurricane for a (almost) 3-year-old living in our house), shopping started (yes! started!), and Christmas movies watched. To accompany the festive spirit, soup was a must.
Let me introduce you to my new favorite food blog and my new favorite comfort food: White bean, chicken and corn chowder by Cooking and Beer.
I highly encourage you to add this soup to your holiday routine. There is even enough left over to feed me lunch this week.
White bean, chicken and corn chowder
Ingredients
- 3 cups frozen corn kernels, divided
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 medium-sized onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 14.5 ounces canned creamed corn
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 cups boneless and skinless chicken breast, cooked through and shredded
- 14.5 ounces canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 3/4 cups half and half
- 6 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped
- micro greens, for garnish
Instructions
- Add two cups of the frozen corn kernels to a blender. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat the chicken broth over medium heat until warm. Add the chicken broth to the blender with the corn and blend until smooth and creamy. Be careful when blending as the mixture is hot. Cover the top of the blender with a dish towel as you blend. Set aside.
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot, add the butter. Melt it over medium heat and add the onion. Cook the onion until translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the flour. Continue stirring and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the flour turns a golden color. Add the blended chicken broth and corn mixture to the pot and whisk as you add it. Continue whisking as you turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the creamed corn and continue to whisk. If you find that the soup is too thick, you may add water or additional chicken broth until you reach a consistency you desire.
- Add the bay leaves, celery salt, a dash of salt and pepper and the potatoes to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add the chicken breast, beans, remaining 1 cup of frozen corn, and half and half and cook for an additional 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the bay leaves from the pot and adjust seasoning to taste.
- Serve the soup topped with bacon crumbles and micro greens. Enjoy!
The only modification I made was to add cheese and avocado on top.
Kristy Maute 