Southwestern Corn Chowder

I adapted this from a recipe I got off of recipezaar. My mom had this soup at work one day and I thought I could do an even better version from scratch. Now my mom can't eat the one they do at work anymore, she says mine is so much better! And it is a fairly simple and quick recipe to whip up on a cold night. We serve it with crusty bread and butter. Em likes to dip her bread in the soup.

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 cup celery, finely chopped (I like to do the veggies approximately the same size as the corn)
* 1 cup onion, finely chopped
* 1 red pepper, finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
* 2 tbls chili powder
* 2 tbls teaspoon cumin
* 3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
* 1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
* 16 ounces frozen corn (I like to do a half bag of regular corn and a half bag of Trader Joes Fire Roasted Corn, it really is a good flavor!)
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 6 tablespoons flour
* 2 cups cheese, shredded (I usually use cheddar)

Directions

Melt butter in a heavy pan. Saute onion, celery, red pepper and garlic until tender. Stir in broth, chili powder, cumin, and corn. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Bring the soup up to a medium heat. In a small bowl, add cream to the flour, whisking until smooth. Add to soup mixture. Stir until thickened. Cook approximately 5 minutes, stirring often. Add cheese, stirring until melted. Serve.

Chicken Enchiladas

This is a family favorite. It isn't exactly a traditional enchilada, but the flavors are there and it is easy to do substitutions. I made this last weekend, and there are leftovers in the fridge.

1 whole chicken, cooked and shredded
3 cups of chicken broth (I reserve this from the water the chicken was boiled in)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (you can use a hotter pepper if you prefer spicy)
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
several tablespoons of chili powder, cumin, and cayanne pepper (if you want it spicy)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn (I use frozen and fill the can of beans after it has been rinsed)
3-4 cups of cheddar cheese
1 package of burrito size tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon of chili powder and cumin (and cayenne if you like it spicy), then saute the onion, peppers, and garlic until softened. Remove from the pan (I usually add to the bowl of the shredded chicken). In the same pan melt the butter, once the butter is melted completely, add the flour and cook until it is "blonde". To this add the chicken broth and whisk well to get rid of any lumps. Bring it to a boil and thickened. Add 1 cup of the cheese, the chicken, sauteed veggies, beans, and corn, another 2 tablespoons of chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined and heat until bubbly. In the greased 9x13 pan, place some of the sauce mixture, then tear apart teh tortillas and cover that completely, layer on several scoops of the sauce mixture, sprinkle with the cheese, and cover with another layer of torn tortillas, repeat layers until the pan is full ending with a topping of cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.



Serving suggestions:
Top with a dollop of sour cream, chopped green onion, chopped tomatoes, black olives, guacamole, etc...