Crab and Corn Chowder

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Crab and Corn Chowder

A couple of weeks ago we played tourist on our little island of Chincoteague, left the boys with my mom and dad, and walked down to Main Street…which, is just literally at the end of my parent’s street. There aren’t many shops – a small bakery, a little wine and cheese shop, some tacky beach t-shirt shops, and a few really fun and funky boutiques. We ventured in The Flying Fish Gallery, and amongst all the fun things they had in the store – my ceramics honing sense immediately zeroed in on these gorgeous oversized mugs. I thought how pretty would these be with a cream of crab soup or chowder in them? I couldn’t wait to get them home and fill them up with something!

Seems like everything is in season right now here on our beautiful Eastern Shore. Crabs are running great, thought they got a late start. Dad got a bushel in his 2 pots he has off the dock in just 4 days last week. That’s a lot of crabs for very little work, folks! We went and had steamed crabs for lunch, and he sent me home with the leftovers to pick.

Corn is in season everywhere right now, and this chowder really showcases the sweet, fresh flavor it lends. Let me just say that this soup was nothing short of phenomenal. All the flavors married so well, and I loved that you could taste the individual ingredients. The crab, the corn, the onion, the garlic, the potatoes…all off them working together in perfect harmony, but one not overpowering the other. Will be making this one again and again! The epitome of a Maryland Eastern Shore summer.

Crab and Fresh Corn Chowder

2 Tbsp butter
olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 starchy potatoes (like Russet), peeled and diced
6 fresh ears corn, shucked and rinsed
1 lb crabmeat, picked clean of shells
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 Tbsp butter

Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat everything well, cook for 2 additional minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the heavy cream and the potatoes, return to a boil, cover, and cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Cut the corn kernels off the cob and add to the soup, along with the crab meat. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the corn is soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the parsley, and stir in the butter until melted. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Source: adapted from Tyler Florence

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

While some people don’t think of the warmer months as soup season, I can’t help turning the stuff away just because the thermometer rises. I just cook different kinds of soups than I do in the winter months! Lighter fare, full of good things – like veggies, and beans. Enter, Chicken Tortilla Soup. I still have a stockpile of whole chickens from my dad that I’ve been trying to use (there will no doubt be another 10 chickens soon to follow!) and making homemade chicken stock and soup is always my favorite thing to do with the small fryers.

Now, there are differing approaches to tortilla soup. Some recipes called for adding the uncooked tortillas right in the soup – which is okay. But, I kind of wanted them slightly crunchy. And, toasting anything totally brings out the flavor more – always a good thing.

So I did the soup on it’s own, then fried up some tortilla strips and served the soup on a few strips of those. They softened up, and released their tortilla-ey goodness into the soup, but still retained a slight crunch. I kept the ingredient list fairly simple. Chicken, black beans, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and corn – all in a delicious seasoned chicken broth. We all really enjoyed it. It was a meal that filled us up, without weighing us down. And, leftovers were great all week long!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 cups shredded chicken
8 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cup corn kernels, thawed
1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp kosher salt
ground black pepper
fresh cilantro, chopped
sliced jalapeno, for garnish
sliced avocado, for garnish
8, 6-inch tortillas, cut into strips and fried (or store-bought tortilla chips)

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven. Add onions, peppers, and garlic. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano – cook for an additional minute until fragrant. Add in the tomato paste, and cook stirring frequently, until tomato paste is starting to darken. Slowly add the chicken stock and water and bring to a boil.

Add the shredded chicken, tomatoes, black beans, corn, and salt. Stir to combine. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, add a small handful of tortilla strips to the bottom of a bowl. Ladle soup onto tortilla strips. Garnish soup with fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, and a few more tortilla strips.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

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Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this soup. Definitely didn’t see this one coming! Dad brought us another stockpile of whole fryer chickens – which is the perfect size to roast, then break down and turn into soup. But, we wanted something a little different. While I love my classics (chicken and noodle, chicken and rice) I wanted something a little different. I had a half a box of orzo, and some pretty lemons – so I went to Google to see what it could direct me too.

It led me to this recipe from Cooking Light, and it turned out exceptional. We enjoyed it for dinner last Sunday night, I ate the leftovers for lunch all week long, and was disappointed when it was all gone! Which, isn’t like me at all – I’m usually over leftovers on day 2. The lemon in it is just perfect – not enough to make you pucker or be overpowering – but just enough to brighten up the flavor of the broth.

I also think it’s a great dish to segue into spring. Still a warm and comforting soup on a chilly evening, but brings the fresh flavors of lemon and fresh parsley to the table. I’m already thinking about the next time we’ll make it! All of us in the house are still thinking and talking about this one. Definitely a new family favorite.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
8 cups of chicken stock or broth
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 lemons
1 bay leaf
8 oz (1.5 cups) orzo pasta
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice,and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes.

Add the shredded chicken and orzo to the pot and cook for about 10 minutes, until the orzo is tender.

Discard the bay leaf and stir in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Source: adapted from Cooking Light

Navy Bean Soup

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Navy Bean Soup

For a good chunk of my life, I was completely turned off by bean soup. Come to think of it, I was pretty much disgusted by all beans. Silly little girl. I’m happy to report that in the past couple years, beans have become a staple in my kitchen. I like to keep bagged dried beans on hand for meals like this, but also canned beans for a quick meal or side dish.

This navy bean soup is the first instance in which I “saw the light” in regards to how awesome beans can be. We were on a cruise, enjoying lunch in the dining room, and navy bean soup was one of the starter courses for the day. I tried it, and loved it. The flavor and texture just won me over completely. Not to mention how hearty and filling it is. Isn’t it funny with all the fancier things on the menu that day, I remember the humble bean soup? It definitely left an impression.

Anyways, I finally “borrowed” the Carnival cookbook from my mom (she’ll probably never see it on her bookshelf again), which has their navy bean soup recipe. After Christmas we were all kind of burnt out on ham leftovers, so I threw the bone into the freezer and took it out last week to make this soup. But, if you don’t have a ham bone laying around, then a smoked ham hock would work just fine. It doesn’t get much more filling, heartier, or economical than a big bubbling pot of bean soup folks!

Navy Bean Soup

1 lb. dried navy beans
1/4 cup bacon, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ham bone or ham hocks
8 cups water
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp paprika
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped

Place beans in 5-quart Dutch oven; cover with cold water. Soak overnight; drain.

Heat the Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the hot bacon grease and cook for a few minutes, until starting to soften. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Slowly pour in the water. Add the ham bone, oregano, paprika, bay leaves, bacon, and drained beans. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 3 hours until beans are tender.Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove ham bone and bay leaves. If there’s any meat left on the bone, I’ll chop it up and throw it back in the soup. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Source: Carnival Creations, cruise cuisine from Carnival chefs