BLT & Garden Chowder

Garden Chowder

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 – 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1-2 cups green beans, chopped
• 1-2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• 3 Tbsp fresh herbs, chopped (basil & parsley in original recipe)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 cups water
• 3 bouillon cubes (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (1 – 12oz. can)
• 2 cups corn
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• sugar to taste

In a big pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add and saute until tender: carrots, green beans, zucchini, green onions, fresh herbs.  Stir flour, salt, and pepper into vegetables.  Gradually stir in water to make a smooth stock.  Add bouillon and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn.  Return to boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes until corn is tender.

Just before serving, add cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.  Stir until melted.  Add a pinch of sugar to taste and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe based on what I had or didn’t have on hand.  I used  the following share vegetables: 2 carrots, 1 cup of green beans, 1 zucchini, 1 squash,  and 2 cups of tomatoes.  I added 1 share eggplant.   I used 3 store-bought green onions and 2 cups of frozen corn.  I used fresh basil, parsley and chives from our garden.  I only used 2 bouillon and 1 cup of cheddar cheese because that’s all I had.  Oh, and I topped it with crumbled bacon!  Mmmmm – bacon and cheddar – what could be better? 

Chowder ingredients

chopped tomatoes

The chowder was wonderful!  My kids were skeptical when I set it in front of them.  My youngest decided he didn’t like it just from looking at it!  But then they tasted it…  It got thumbs up from both boys!  What more could I ask for?

It took quite a bit of time to prep all of the ingredients.  I didn’t plan on it taking so long, so we had a late dinner tonight.  Now I know for next time!  And there will be a next time – this recipe’s a keeper!

Swiss Chard A La Terry

Here is a swiss chard recipe from my mother-in-law, Terry.  She made it up as she went along.  I made some modifications to it based on what I had (or didn’t have) in the fridge.

Swiss Chard A La Terry (adapted by Amy – serves 4)

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (Terry only used 2 slices, but we really like bacon!)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp butter

2 garlic scapes, chopped (Terry used minced garlic)

2 spring onions, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

5 large swiss chard, stems chopped and leaves torn

1 med. yellow squash, peeled and sliced (Terry used 2 squash, but I only had 1)

I did not have the following ingredients, but Terry used them in her recipe:

chopped red bell pepper

Simply Organic seasoning

chopped hazelnuts

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet.  Add garlic scapes (or minced garlic, as Terry had used), spring onion, carrot, and swiss chard stems.  Saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add red bell pepper and squash.  Saute another couple of minutes, until squash starts to brown and carrots are crisp-tender.  Add seasoning.  Add swiss chard leaves, stir to wilt, remove pan from heat.  Top with crumbled bacon and hazelnuts.

Dave and I really enjoyed this.  The boys were not so enthusiastic. I think the hazelnuts would have been a really nice accent.  I’ll get some for the next time I make this.  Dave and I ate this as our lunch.  It would also make a good side dish.

Here’s how I made the squash:

Squash marinating in italion dressing

I sliced in into 1/4″ planks, marinated it in my favorite dressing for 5 hours (I marinated chicken breasts in the same dressing).  Then I grilled the planks over direct medium heat for 5 minutes a side.  Here is the end result:

marinated chicken and squash

Looks good, but…  (The chicken was really good, just not the squash)

Help, please!  I’m sure I’ll get more squash this afternoon!