It’s the new year!
And that’s all I’ll say about that. Trust me, you’ve read it all already anyway, and I’m sure you’re tired of it at this point. So let’s just move on with our post-holiday recovery, shall we?
You can’t kid me – you might want to lose some of that holiday weight, but we all know that you don’t really want to be eating salads for the rest of January. We also know that you’ve got some leftover turkey squirreled away in your freezer from the various recent family dinners. And to top it all off…it’s cold. And what you really want is some warm, creamy soup.
My friend Julia recently made some gorgeous, creamy corn chowder that I instantly knew I wanted to make. Not only is this soup chock-full of veggies (you could even add more if you like), it also makes use of some of that leftover turkey…and the best part? There is only 1/2 cup of half and half in the entire recipe. That’s right, this recipe manages to produce a creamy, delicious, comforting soup without adding significantly to your waistline. It’s exactly what we need to start off this new year.
Adapted from The Roasted Root
Turkey and Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon cut into pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 1 large russet potato peeled and diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bag frozen corn
- 1 quart chicken broth divided
- 1/2 cup fat-free half and half
- 2 cups cooked diced turkey
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place about half of the corn kernels in a blender with 1 cup of the chicken broth and all of the half and half. Blend until smooth and creamy; set aside.
- In a large dutch oven, cook the bacon pieces until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Pour the fat into a small bowl.
- Return the pan to medium-high heat. Add in about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and the butter. Add the onion, carrots, and potato, cooking until onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Sprinkle the flour over the cooked vegetables and stir to combine. Cook for about 1 minute, then slowly pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir until thickened, then add the rest of the corn, the blended corn mixture, the turkey and the cooked bacon. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
I hear chowder and I don’t think health food…so it’s nice to know it can be lightened up! This sounds delicious!
Yeeeeeah! So glad you made turkey chowder! It looks delicious, lady! Believe it or not, I have cooked turkey on hand right now, so maybe I’ll try the recipe with turkey. Thanks for trying the recipe!
Thanks for sharing the original! 🙂
Ooooo I wish I didn’t share my leftover turkey with the moocher, Weezer! Might have to try the chicken recipe!
Oh Weezah.
This is my kind of soup! Yum 🙂
You’re absolutely right. In all respects.
Do you think it would work in a crock pot? I have my grocery list made to try this out.
Honestly, I would not feel ok saying that it would unless I tried it first. It would certainly take a lot of tweaking to make it work