The friend I wrote about a couple weeks ago who broke her hip — she came home today! Evidently they replaced the broken part of her hip with titanium, so she didn’t have to wait for bones to knit. I am so happy she is home so fast! I brought her and her husband some of my favorite soup, since I don’t think she’ll be up to cooking for a while. I’ll share it with you all too, since it is one of my favorites! This time around, I made the “healthy” version — I used lowfat or no fat versions of everything and added lots of fresh steamed broccoli!
Loaded Baked Potato Chowder
3 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lb/1.1 kg)
3 1/2 cups (875 mL) milk, divided
4 oz (125 g) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
2-3 green onions with tops (1/4 cup/50 mL sliced)
4 oz (125 g) sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) coarsely ground black pepper
Optional toppings such as chopped cooked bacon, sour cream or steamed broccoli florets
1. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise with Santoku Knife; place in Deep Covered Baker. Pour 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the milk over potatoes. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 11 minutes. Remove Baker from microwave. Move center potatoes to ends of Baker and outer potatoes to center. Cover; microwave on HIGH 8-11 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Remove Baker from microwave. Coarsely mash potatoes with Mix ‘N Chop.
2. Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth in Classic Batter Bowl. Slowly add remaining 3 cups (750 mL) milk, whisking until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and butter to Baker. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-5 minutes or until mixture is hot. Slice green onions with Chef’s Knife.
3. Carefully remove Baker from microwave. Grate cheddar cheese over chowder using Rotary Grater; add green onions, salt and black pepper and mix using Small Mix ‘N Scraper(R) until cheese is melted. Serve with toppings, if desired.
Yield: 6 servings (8 cups/2 L)
Nutrients per serving: (about 1 1/3 cups/325 mL): Calories 390, Total Fat 19 g, Saturated Fat 11 g, Cholesterol 65 mg, Carbohydrate 43 g, Protein 14 g, Sodium 880 mg, Fiber 3 g
Cook’s Tip: For a lighter version, omit butter. Substitute fat-free (skim) milk, reduced-fat (Neufchâtel) cheese and light cheddar for the 2% milk and full-fat cheeses.
This sounds delicious…glad your friend is home and is okay.