Shrimp and corn chowder
I pinned about 4 different recipes for this soup and eventually decided I didn't like the contents for any of them, so I came up with my own version. And I am so thankful I did!
Almost all the recipes included onion...yuck! That was the first omitted item. Next, I took bay leaves off the ingredient list. My personally opinion is that whenever you add bay leaves to anything, they overpower the whole dish. The original recipe that I manipulated called for 4 cups of chicken stock (I used broth), but that made the soup much thinner than I would have liked, so I only used 3 cups (and honestly, that was still a little thin for me; I like thick, creamy soups). To thicken it up more, I added an entire cup of heavy cream and one tablespoon of flour (I could have used more, but I was being careful not the ruin it). And lastly, the biggest change I made was to add potatoes. I have no idea why this popped into my head, but I just felt the soup needed another large component. The shrimp and corn might have been fine on their own, but the dish is mostly spices and I thought another solid would really bring it together.
Luckily for me, my husband hates seafood of all kinds. So I get to eat this soup for the next few days and I am totally okay with that! Which reminds me....the recipe also called for cooking the shrimp separately, but I feared that would prevent all the spices from being absorbed by the shrimp, so I left them in the pot from start to finish. Here's my version:
Here's the original: http://damndelicious.net/2014/10/24/shrimp-corn-chowder/
Give this soup a try and let me know what you think!
Almost all the recipes included onion...yuck! That was the first omitted item. Next, I took bay leaves off the ingredient list. My personally opinion is that whenever you add bay leaves to anything, they overpower the whole dish. The original recipe that I manipulated called for 4 cups of chicken stock (I used broth), but that made the soup much thinner than I would have liked, so I only used 3 cups (and honestly, that was still a little thin for me; I like thick, creamy soups). To thicken it up more, I added an entire cup of heavy cream and one tablespoon of flour (I could have used more, but I was being careful not the ruin it). And lastly, the biggest change I made was to add potatoes. I have no idea why this popped into my head, but I just felt the soup needed another large component. The shrimp and corn might have been fine on their own, but the dish is mostly spices and I thought another solid would really bring it together.
Luckily for me, my husband hates seafood of all kinds. So I get to eat this soup for the next few days and I am totally okay with that! Which reminds me....the recipe also called for cooking the shrimp separately, but I feared that would prevent all the spices from being absorbed by the shrimp, so I left them in the pot from start to finish. Here's my version:
Ingredients:
1 pound of shrimp (I buy them frozen, but cooked, peeled and tails removed)
1 large potato (diced into cubes)
1/4 of a package of bacon (roughly 4-5 slices)
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
2 teaspoons of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups of chicken broth
1 can of whole corn
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of dried parsley
Instructions:
The first thing I did was place the bacon on a cooking sheet and bake it in the oven. I cook all of my bacon this way so that I can drain the grease and it also prevents me from getting burned while trying to cook it on the stove top. Next, I diced my potato and immediately boiled the cubes for about 15 minutes. You want them soft enough to chew, but not mashed potato consistency.
Using a large pot, I sprayed the inside with cooking spray and immediately added the shrimp, garlic, paprika, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes. You can add salt or pepper for taste, but I omitted both. Allow the flavors to mix together well and then add your broth. Boil down for about 10-15 minutes and then add your cream. Lastly, remove the soup from the stove top and add in all your remaining ingredients (diced bacon, parsley and potatoes). Give the soup a good whisk to mix all the goodies.
Serve and enjoy!!
Here's the original: http://damndelicious.net/2014/10/24/shrimp-corn-chowder/
Give this soup a try and let me know what you think!
