Corn Chowder with Shrimp and Cilantro

Corn Chowder with Shrimp and Cilantro
1 T butter
1/4 pound peeled, cooked small shrimp (tails removed)
1 C diced red bell pepper
1 C frozen corn
2 18 1/2 ounce cans Progresso Southwestern-Style Corn Chowder
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
4 T minced fresh cilantro
2 dashes Tabasco sauce


1. Melt butter in medium skilllet over medium heat. Add shrimp, bell pepper, and corn, and stir 3 minutes to heat through. Set aside.
2. Add soup to large sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Stir in shrimp mixture, along with chilies, 3 T cilantro, and Tabasco. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with remaining minced cilantro and serve.

Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder

This is a really fast soup. It's a great use for leftover chicken, but if you don't have any just cook chicken pieces as the first step before adding the onion, celery and jalapeño. You can find the recipe and nutritional info at Cooking Light here. -Julie

Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breast halves)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and jalapeño; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 5 minutes).

Cheese Chicken and Rice Casserole

This one came out of a cooking magazine and we tried it just the other day. SUPER EASY! We really liked it. -Kathy

Cheese Chicken and Rice Casserole from Campbell's
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup (we used cream of mushroom)
1 1/3 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long grain white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups frozen mixed veggies (we used 1c broccoli and 1 c carrots)
4 skinless, boneless chick breast halves
1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Stir soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and veggies in 11 x 8" (2qt) shallow baking dish.
2. Top with chicken. Season chicken as desired. Cover (yeah - just realized I didn't do this and it still turned out good.)
3. Bake at 375 F for 50 min. or until chicken and rice are done. (timing worked for me) Top with cheese. Let casserole stand. Stir rice before serving. (I did this in the dish around the chicken).

Vegetarian Chili with Avocado Salsa

My kids love chili, as long as it isn't too spicy, so I just keep a bottle of hot sauce at hand for my husband. I love all the healthy parts of this chili, and the girls don't always realize what they are eating! This already has some extras as part of the recipe, but I usually serve some kind of fruit, like mangos, kiwis or pineapples to go along as well. -Susie

Vegetarian Chili with Avocado Salsa
cooking time: 30 minutes, serves 6

2 tsp canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red pepper
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
4.5 oz can chopped green chilies
2/3 cup quick-cooking barley
1/4 cup water
15 oz can drained black beans
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
14.5 oz can vegie broth
3 TB fresh cilantro
6 TB reduced fat sour cream
6 lime wedges
18 baked Tortilla chips
Avocado Salsa (see below)

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion and pepper, saute 3 min. Add chili powder through chilies, cook 1 minute. Stir in barley though broth, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, until barley is tender. Stir in cilantro. Serve with sour cream, lime wedges, chips and avocado salsa. Store chili in airtight container in fridge for up to two days.

Avocado Salsa
1/2 cup finely chipped, peeled avocado
1/3 cup chopped seeded tomato
2 TB finely chopped onlon
1 TB chopped fresh cilantro
1 TB fresh lime juice
1/8 tsp salt

Basil Tortellini Soup

Here's another from my "really simple" file. Honestly, I'm usually too lazy to serve anything with my soups, but if I were going to, I'd probably go with bread and a fruit salad with this one. -Nancy

Basil Tortellini Soup
4 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 pkg. (9 oz.) cheese tortellini
15 oz. white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. chopped fresh tomato
1/3 to 1/2 c. shredded fresh basil
1 to 2 tbls. balsamic vinegar
1/4 t. salt
1/8 to 1/4 t. pepper
1/3 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large sauce pan, bring broth to a boil. Add tortellini; cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the beans, tomato, and basil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve with cheese.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

I love this recipe. It is a creamy soup made from rolled oats!! Healthy! You must like asparagus or don't bother. Sometimes I add cut up pork chop to it to make my husband happy. It freezes well too. I use chicken broth and it is fine without the lemon and dill. Don't forget to let it cool a little before you blend it if you have a glass blender. Yes, I learned the hard way. -Ailey

Cream of Asparagus Soup
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, washed and trimmed
5 cups of stock or water
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2teaspoon sea salt
Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Garnish
Fresh dill (or dried)

Heat oil in pot. Add oniion and saute until soft. Cut asparagus into small pices. Add to onion and suate a few more minutes. Add stock, oatmeal and salt. Bring to boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree. Reheat if neccessary. Add some fresh lemon juice to taste and serve with garnished dill. Makes 6 servings.