Pin It
As the weather starts to get cooler in the evenings and the sun sets a bit earlier, I start craving hearty meals of soups and stews and casseroles. In other words, I turn to comfort foods, my favorite always being those from treasured family recipes.
It reminds me of a time when Little Buddy was REALLY a wee Little Buddy. It was late in the Fall and I’d been in the kitchen cooking supper as he came over and asked me what we were having. I told him, “Tonight we’re having Grandmother Verdie’s Chicken and Dumplings.”
“Grandmother Verdie’s coming? Then, why are you cooking?”
“No honey, I’m making her recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. It’ll be ready in just a few minutes.”
As we were finishing our Chicken and Dumplings, Little Buddy peeped over the rim of his spoon at me and said, “These pillows taste like a big hug.”
I should have just changed the official name of Chicken and Dumplings right then and there to Chicken and Pillows it was so precious. But his point pretty much sums up how I feel about family recipes, too.
Family recipes are just like big hugs passed from generations before us where loved ones share bits and pieces of themselves in each recipe. Each time we make one of their recipes, it’s as if they are right there at the table beside us.
While this recipe isn’t about Chicken and Dumplings (you can find that in an earlier post), I do want to share with you a family favorite recipe for Southern Chicken and Corn Chowder.
This recipe has a few ingredients in it like jalapeno, thyme, and vegetables that give it a truly hearty flavor.
And here comes a little secret. I like to add in a couple of packages of frozen creamed corn. Of course if you have creamed corn in your freezer that you put up from your garden, that would be the very best corn to include! But in a pinch, and for those of you whose corn was gobbled up by the deer on your property like mine was, this creamed corn works just fine!
You’ll want this corn to have thawed considerably before adding it to your chowder. Don’t worry if there are still bits of frozen corn as you add it. As it cooks, it will be perfect!
Here’s how I make it.
A scrumptious, comforting recipe for Southern Chicken and Corn Chowder. Copyright © Add a Pinch. All Rights Reserved.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3 pieces cooked bacon
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 20-ounce packages frozen creamed corn, thawed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
http://addapinch.com/cooking/2011/10/05/southern-chicken-and-corn-chowder-recipe/
- Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of a large, lidded soup pot. Place over medium heat.
- Add roughly chopped onion, carrots, celery, and minced garlic. Cover pot with lid and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Remove stems, seeds, and membrane from jalapeno pepper. Dice pepper finely and add to other vegetables.
- Cube chicken breasts and add to vegetables. Add enough water to slightly cover all ingredients. Cover pot with lid and cook for about 20 minutes until chicken is done.
- Crumble bacon and add to the chowder.
- Combine milk and flour in a measuring cup and stir well. Add to chowder.
- Open packages of frozen creamed corn and add to the chowder.
- Sprinkle dried thyme into chowder and stir to combine.
- Cover pot with lid and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes.
Copyright © Add a Pinch. All Rights Reserved.
I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does.
Hugs,
Robyn
Contact Robyn
Subscribe to Cooking
This corn chowder looks simply delicious! I have pinned it so that I will not forget to try it.
Natalie @ Cooking for My Kids recently posted..Momma’s Little Helpers – Recipe: Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes
Wow! That looks AMAZING!!
Mary at Deep South Dish recently posted..Elvis Pie
I loved that story, and I love this recipe! Delicious!
Deborah recently posted..Blogger Spotlight | Not Rachael Ray
These looks so creamy and delicious. And I love the lighting on this photo! So pretty.
Georgia Pellegrini recently posted..“Beautiful Oregon”
This looks so perfect the weather we are having right now! Creamy and cozy
shelly (cookies and cups) recently posted..Caramel Apple Trifle {Easy Canvas Prints Giveaway}
One of the many reasons I love Southern food! Looks amazing!
Nelly Rodriguez recently posted..What’s your favorite street food?
Oh My, this looks amazing. Pinning this for when it gets below 50* here in Atlanta.
This looks so amazing….so creamy and rich!!! Love the Little Buddy story and this fantastic recipe. Have you tried this in crockpot? Thanks for another great comforting recipe.
Hey Mary,
I’ve not tried this one in the slow cooker, but I bet it would be wonderful. I’ll have to try it in mine next time and update with all of the slow cooker specifics. If you beat me to the punch, send me an email with the information and I’ll include from you!
Thanks so much,
Robyn
Your photos are just as beautiful as the recipe Robyn! *Chicken & Pillows* sounds mighty fine to me. Mighty fine. LOVE this post.
Wenderly recently posted..Drying Herbs
My heaven that looks terrific. I cannot wait to they this one. Come visit us. We have a wonderful waffle recipe today. Come over and visit.
Did you add black pepper? The photo shows something black. Didn’t notice anything black in your ingredience list. Curious if you had just tossed some pepper on top for presntation or if I missed a step. I love black pepper. This sounds great!
I did add black pepper for presentation. I love it too can be a bit heavy-handed with it, so I usually add to taste at the end of recipes like these.
This sounds YUM! My friend pinned this on Pinterest. I am wondering about the “frozen creamed corn”? I do not believe I have ever seen that in the frozen section. Could canned creamed corn be subbed?
If you can’t find frozen creamed corn, but can find canned I would use the canned. I can’t wait to hear how you like the chowder!
I feel same way about family recipes. They are the most precious thing. Lovely recipe as always Robyn!
Oh MY! I just found your site through a pin on Pinterest! I love it! This recipe is fabulous! What do you recommend using in place of onion? Little girl hates then–can this recipe work without?
Thank you for sharing your talents!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment! I think you can easily omit the onion if you choose. That’s the great thing about this chowder, you can add to it or take away to your personal tastes.
I can’t wait to hear how you like it!
~Robyn
Thank you! I will try it this
weekend and tell you how it turned out without the onion
Linnette recently posted..Playing With Glitter & Paper Dolls
Just got done making this, my family does not like celery so we left that out as well as the carrots so I am a little shy on the veggies. We opted for asparagus as a side dish. I had to use 2 cans of cream corn and it still looks and smells delish! My oldest daughter (13= PICKY) came down stairs and says OMG Mom the whole house smells so good. Will follow up on how the family rates it, but so far I give it 5 stars! *****
There are no leftovers, success! my hubby added the asparagus to the chowder and said it was delicious that way, so I did too and he was right.
I just stumbled crossed this and ooooh yeah to I need a bowl. This soup looks and sounds like its in my near future!
Kita recently posted..Snapshot Saturday: DIY Creepy Candy Jars for Halloween
i just finished making your chowder, it was good (i added adobo and lots of salt & pepper, some crushed red pepper flakes too, felt it needed a touch more flavor) but it does not look like your picture at all. how did you get yours so brown? also, what is the red chunk in your bowl? looks like a piece of lobster or something – ??
Hi Michele,
I bet the addition of the adobo and the red pepper flakes really did kick it up a notch! Mine is always the same color when I prepare it, maybe take a look at cooking your vegetables just a bit longer if you thought you needed more flavor and color. That may have been part of it. There are a couple of big pieces showing in my photograph – chicken as well as some carrot with what looks like a bit of cooked onion. I bet you are seeing the carrot and onion that looks like lobster. No lobster in that chowder, but what a great idea to sub instead of the chicken!
Thanks so much for your comment!
Robyn
Hi Robyn,
I, too, discovered your site through Pinterest. I just made this chowder and I am in LOVE!!! Not only does it have the house smelling amazing, the chowder itself is wonderful. [Perfect for our gloomy, rainy, COLD Chicago Sunday. :-]
I must confess, I love adding a little bit of smoked paprika to everything, so I did. ::blush::
This is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Hey Tamra,
Welcome to the Add a Pinch community! I’m so glad you found our site and enjoyed the chowder. It is a definite favorite around here, too!
Smoked paprika sounds like a great addition that I’ll have to give a try next time we make it!
I love this recipe and blog…I posted it on my community foodie blog. Hope you can come check it out http://www.facebook.com/thefrenchiefoodie
Also, feel free to post you’re recipes or you’re favourite foodie tips on it whenever you like!
Made this for dinner tonight, pretty good, but lacking in flavor. Had to add salt! Was better w/a bit of salt. We also added a tsp of cajun seasoning. Now it’s great!
Yum, I bet the cajun seasoning was delicious. I always think it’s great to make a recipe your own for the amount of seasoning and flavor your family enjoys.
Robyn, the chowder is fabulous. I made it a second time and it was very white. What makes yours look brown. My second batch wasn’t as good as my first. Not sure what I did wrong.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It is delicious.
Any helpful hints would be appreciated. Do you use yellow corn?
Linda
Hey Linda – I’m so glad you like the chowder. It is definitely one of our favorites for cool weather. I use whatever creamed corn I have on hand – sometimes it is white and sometimes it is a yellow corn. My son is a fan of the blend, so to make everyone happy I like to find it as well.
To get your chowder base a bit darker, you could try to brown your vegetables at the beginning just a wee bit longer. The color from additional browning on the vegetables should help to color your chowder more. It should also bump up the vegetable flavor in the chowder.
Let me know how it works for you with those changes. I’m so glad you are enjoying it!
I made this for a potluck this week! I was amazed to find frozen creamed corn in the freezer section at the grocery store (even the guy working there didn’t know they carried it, but it was hidden away on a top shelf). Great discovery and much tastier than canned! Mine also was a little bland so I am going to add salt, pepper, maybe another jalapeno and some more seasoning to it when I made it again. Loved how creamy it was without having to use heavy cream! Thanks!
WOW – this chowder has delicious and comfort written all over it. LOVE IT!!!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I made it last night and it is delicious….a very hearty chowder! We like things spicy, so I added red pepper!
I don’t know what made me want to try this recipe. I don’t like corn in soup or casseroles. At least, not until now. Wow, was this ever good! Thanks for sharing! Sincerely,
Cinda Atherton
(p.s. I found this recipe via Pinterest)
Thank you for letting me know how much you like it, Cinda! Let me know if you ever have any questions about any of my other recipes!
That chowder is looking really tasty!
Kevin (Closet Cooking) recently posted..Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Cheesecake
Made this today. I took out the bacon and added another jalapeno pepper. I also added a yellow and red pepper and a can of black beans. Topped with Monterrey Jack cheese. Yum! I didn’t get that beautiful color, but I’ll try cooking the veggies longer next time.
Robyn,
Made this tonight for the first time and it’s delicious! I may add a little less thyme next time (to my wife’s chagrin) and kick in some cajun seasoning but everyone has slightly different tastes.
I have a question for you though…do you have any thoughts on how it could be made creamier? I think this would be delicious in a sourdough bread bowl but I find that thicker soups work better. Your thoughts would be appreciated…I make a few recipes here and there that catch my eye, but I am no chef!
Thank you for posting the recipe!!
We have a wonderful waffle recipe today. The color from additional browning on the vegetables should help to color your chowder more. I, too, discovered your site through Pinterest. What do you recommend using in place of onion?
Annette Kennedy recently posted..Swiffer Mops
If you prefer your chowder without onions, you can simply omit them.