Saturday, September 11, 2010

Southwestern bean chowder

Yet another recipe from my healthy cooking magazine.  I guess I have to have a healthy dinner to try and counterbalance the sugary breakfasts I've made this week.
I really liked this meal.  I debated making some quesadillas to go with it, but I actually didn't want to make anything else that day so I just served it with a slice of wheat bread.  (which then turned into 2 or 3 pieces for everyone.)  I still think quesadillas would have been yummy, but I didn't have any tortillas, and I spent the 15 minutes they should have been resting trying to choose a recipe.

Ingredients
  • 2 cans (15 oz.) white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed, drained and divided. (I used great northern beans)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped celery (I just chopped 1 stalk)
  • 1/4 cup chopped green pepper (I used red, and I used 1 whole)
  • 1 Tablespoon oil (I used butter)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken -didn't have vegetable)
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed (I used more like 2 cups)
  • 1 medium carrot, shredded (I used 2 that were a bit small)
  • 1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups milk (I used skim)
  • 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar (I used about 1/2 sharp cheddar and 1/2 Monterrey jack)
  • minced fresh cilantro and additional cheddar for topping
Directions
  1. In a small bowl, mash one can beans with a fork; set aside. (not sure I'd do this again.  I'm sure it thickens it, but I think a lot of beans mash automatically when cooking.)
  2. In a dutch oven, saute the onion, celery and pepper in oil (or butter) until tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Stir in the mashed beans, broth, corn, carrot, chilies, cumin, chili powder and remaining beans.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
  3. Combine cornstarch adn milk until smooth.  Stir into bean mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Serve with cilantro and additional cheese if desired.  (We topped ours with white cheddar.)

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