Food!

[theweaselking]

Something I've made a bunch of times but not shared yet:

Crockpot Chicken, Corn, and Potato Chowder

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of potato soup.
1 can kernel corn, drained.
1 cup chicken broth
1 diced chicken breast
1/2 diced red pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
chili peppers to taste - the original recipe calls for "one can green chiles", but we don't have those in Canada. I've been using a quick squirt of the processed chili pepper in tubes.

Instructions:
1. Put everything except the milk in a slow cooker.
2. Slow cook. If you're around, stir once in a while to keep bits from sticking to the edges. If not, no worries.
3. 30 minutes before serving, add the milk.

This recipe is written for a *small* slow-cooker. For a big one (like the one torrain and I have), double the recipe. It refrigerates well and provides useful lunches for days. Serve with bread.


CHEFFERY!

Comments

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

"one can green chiles", but we don't have those in Canada
And that is why, I could never be a Canadian.

You should check out Hatch-chili.com (http://www.hatch-chile.com/); Hatch chilis are the best chilis.

[luminalflux.livejournal.com]

Even Sweden gets green chiles (in a can).

[lebongirl.livejournal.com]

you are correct - Hatch chiles are the BEST!!! I don't know what I would do w/o my Hatch chile.


You must have green chile in a can - perhaps you just have yet to locate it at the grocery store? I often see it near other "Mexican" food products like refried beans, salsa, etc.

According to google, it should also be in the "international foods" aisle.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

It's entirely possible that I've just never seen them, and they weren't in the "canned vegetables" section of the three grocery stores that I normally go to.

Which, if they're filed somewhere completely different, would explain why I never see them.

[lebongirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah they're usually somewhere unexpected. Heck, I live in New Mexico (home of the best green chile! - we prefer fresh or frozen), and when I need canned green chile, I usually have to do a bit of hunting for it. It always seems that different grocery store chains put it in different locations. Sometimes I've seen it near canned, chopped black olives, but more often than not, usually where the salsas, taco shells & other "Mexican" items.

If you do locate green chiles, be aware that they're pretty mild. If you like heat, don't be afraid to use more than one can.

Or if you're really serious about GOOD, hot green chile, hit up the link someone posted to buy real Hatch chile.

Anyway, good luck, hope you can find some.


Here's a bonus recipe if you DO manage to find it. This is a dip that has no name (serve with tortilla chips).

2 cans chopped black olives, drained
1 can green chile
3-4 green onions (scallions), finely sliced
1 fresh tomato, chopped
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
dash of salt

Add all ingredients, mix well, refrigerate for a few hours to let flavors blend.


I hate black olives, but I love this dip (really, it's more like a salsa). It really is good.

[allysonsedai.livejournal.com]

In our groceries there's usually an aisle dedicated foreign food: Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican mostly. Canned green chilies are kept with the rest of the Mexican food.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Bottom shelf, in the snack food aisle, next to the salsa and the burrito mixes. But there!

[allysonsedai.livejournal.com]

¡Interesante!

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. It's a weird-assed place to hide a canned vegetable. It's not in canned vegetables, it's not in the International Food aisle: it's hiding off with the salsa, chips, popcorn, and candy.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Were there any other similar ingredients you'd use for homemade salsa anywhere near there?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

No. On the bottom shelf, there were: "club pack" bottles of salsa, cans of refried beans, these chilis.
Second shelf: Jars of normal salsa
Third shelf: small jars and specialty (cheese, mango, corn, etc) salsa.
Above: Packaged burrito/taco/fajita mixes, in boxes.

This was all in the end section of one aisle. Going into the rest of the sections meant hitting the chips, snack foods, popcorn, etc.

[laplor.livejournal.com]

Erm, I've never been out of Canada and I have cans of green chiles in my pantry. Co op, Superstore and Sobeys all sell them.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Loblaws, YIG, and Metro near here do not. I've got a Sobey's, though, so I'll check it out.

I've *never seen them*.

[laplor.livejournal.com]

They're really tiny cans (about 100g) so can actually be hard to see. I usually find them nestled high on a shelf near the displays of taco kits and so on. Good luck!

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Bottom shelf, in the snack food aisle, next to the salsa and the burrito mixes. But there!

[laplor.livejournal.com]

Woot! Now you know the secret.

My favourite grocery store is going through a 'reline'. What that seems to mean is that for the last three weeks peanut butter has been temporarily located on three aisles at once, and cereal on five. Sigh.

[opaqueplanet.livejournal.com]

This looks amazing!

Is the diced chicken breast cooked or uncooked? How long should you slow cook it for (is this a 12 hour recipe or a 3 hour recipe)?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Chicken: Uncooked.
Time: On low, but it's good to go any time after about the 5 hour mark.

[opaqueplanet.livejournal.com]

thanks! I'll be trying this this week!

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Hmm, does the milk curdle or sour if added at the start? Looks good, though I might add more chicken and put actual taters into it in addition to the tater soup. (I like taters)

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

No, it burns and separates if you leave it in to boil for that long.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Aha, good to know. The only thing I've used milk in my crock pot for is tomalito, and that's pretty integral to that so wouldn't separate.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I don't actually *know* that it wil burn and separate. I've never had it happen - because recipes that involve milk almost always tell you to add the milk last and not boil the milk hard, and this one is no exception, so I haven't tried.

[laplor.livejournal.com]

I've learned that cream can be boiled but lower fat milk, especially skim milk, can curdle and separate if it reaches temperatures above 180F.

I'm not sure about the science, but suspects it has to do with the fat preventing the proteins from clumping up.

[the-dense.livejournal.com]

green chilies, sure, but tbh i think i'd be more likely to put a scoop of some kind of salsa in there instead. but i'm from the Midwest. you had me at "cream of ___ soup." that's one of the ~4 ingredients in my parents' kitchen.

[opaqueplanet.livejournal.com]

Oh my god; this was delicious. Thank you!

[ianvass.livejournal.com]

Question - I am getting ready to try this for a family of 7 (babysitting 4 nieces and nephews for a month), and I want enough for more than 1 meal. Should I double it? Triple it? We got a 7 qt crock pot. It sounds wonderful and I am looking forward to it!

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I would start with a double-batch - that's what I normally make, since my slow-cooker is huge. That usually fills the cooker pretty well, and gives us tons of leftovers.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I've also taken to, for the record, adding chunks of potato and diced celery to the mix, and instead of canned chiles (after I found them, I tried them once, and found them too mild) I use a quick squirt of Sriracha. Sriracha is very hot - only use a little, because you want a bit of bite to the chowder, you don't actually want it to be "spicy chowder".

[ianvass.livejournal.com]

The hot sauce is a good idea. I'll add in some of mine, though because this is feeding some young children, I'll avoid the "spicy chowder" you mention.

The potatoes and celery is also a good idea! Will the potatoes fall apart if you add them in the beginning or do they need to be added in the middle or at the end?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I didn't have a problem with them falling apart, and I added them right at the start. I was using cubed pieces of white potato.

[ianvass.livejournal.com]

Potatoes added,and the verdict:

Every. Single. Kid. Loved it. From the 2 year old to the 12 year old.

This *never* happens.

Congrats on creating such a wonderful recipe.

Oh, and I ended up tripling the recipe. Totally fit in my crockpot, and there is enough for everyone to have at least one more meal. :)

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Great to hear!

However, for the record, I did NOT create the recipe. That's why it calls for "canned chiles" when, when I first made it, I didn't know where to get those.

I'm 99% sure this is the original (http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotchickensoups/r/r70728b.htm). It certainly looks right, and I get a lot of recipes from about.com

[ianvass.livejournal.com]

As a side note - we are taking care of the same kids and they universally requested this meal again. The wife is out picking up the ingredients right now. :)