Secret Recipe Club - Amazing Chicken, Corn, and Potato Chowder

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I was paired up with Aimee from Shugary Sweets, a mother of four active kids who loves to cook but especially bake. In her About Me section she suggests grabbing a cup of coffee and staying for a while, and that’s exactly what I did. I found it a very enjoyable way to spend a blustering fall afternoon. Aimee does have a lot of tempting sweet treats that I bookmarked, and her large assortment of donut recipes (“The Donut Shop”) is truly impressive. Glad I don’t have the right equipment to make these as it would be dangerous for our waistlines.

I debated between the Italian beef and giardiniera recipe, which Chicago boy Craig would adore, crockpot barbacoa and cilantro lime rice – cilantro and chipotle – what’s not to love?, but I finally settled for something a little lighter, chicken, corn, and potato chowder. Originally a slow cooker recipe, I made it on the cook top, and the recipe below reflects my changes, including a few slices of bacon, diced bell peppers, regular (frozen) corn instead of creamed corn (I added some milk and spooned out and pureed some of the cooked potatoes and corn to add creaminess). I also had some green beans from our CSA that needed to be used so I threw those in too, and I forgot to add the cream cheese, but we never missed it. The salsa verde adds a distinct brightness so don’t omit it. Sadly, I defrosted the last of the tomatillo salsa I froze last summer. With the high temps this summer I only got two tomatillos from the garden so we have none to get us through the winter. This comes together quickly and is very flavorful on a chilly evening.

Chicken, Corn and Potato Chowder Recipe

2-3 slices bacon, diced

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 red onion, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 colored bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

3 baking potatoes, washed and cubed

2 C chicken broth

1 C milk

2 C frozen corn

1/2 C salsa verde

2 t cumin

2 t Southwest seasoning (I used Penzey’s Arizona mix)

1/3 c sour cream

1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a Dutch oven, sauté the bacon until crispy. Remove to a paper towel and set aside. Drain all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan and add the chicken, cooking until no longer pink. Remove and set aside.

Add the onions, carrots, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno and sauté until vegetables are soft, adding olive oil by the teaspoon if needed. Add the chicken broth, milk, potatoes, corn, salsa, cumin, and Southwest seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook until the potatoes are soft. Spoon out some of the potatoes and corn and puree in a blender or with a stick blender. Return to the pan along with the chicken and cook until heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper, stirring to melt cheese.

When serving, top with bacon.

Slow Cooker Version:

In the slow cooker, add vegetables, chicken breasts, broth, corn, salsa and seasonings. Heat on low for 6-8 hours. Remove chicken, dice or shred, and return to slow cooker. In last half hour before serving, add sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Stir thoroughly before serving.