Recipe: Creamy Potato Chowder

Recipe: Creamy Potato Chowder By Carolyn Vachani, MSN, RN, AOCN, January 29, 2009

Ingredients

7 slices bacon (1/2 a standard package)
1 large onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves
salt & pepper
2 celery stalks, diced
4 carrots, diced
5 large potatoes or 7-8 small ones diced in about ½ inch cubes (Russet or other baking variety), skin on or off, your choice
32 ounces chicken stock
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried parsley
1 cup milk (whatever type you have on hand, 2% used to calculate nutritional value)
½ cup all purpose flour
12 oz. can evaporated milk
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

• In pan, cook bacon until crispy. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve for later.
• Add diced onion to bacon drippings and cook until it becomes translucent, 6-7 minutes.
• Add garlic (chopped or with garlic press) and cook another 30 seconds. Add pinch of salt and pepper.
• Add the diced celery and carrots and cook another 5 minutes.
• Transfer everything from the pan to crock pot.

Add:

• diced potatoes
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp dried parsley

• Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
• Whisk together flour and milk.
• Pour this mixture into crock pot along with the can of evaporated milk and stir.
• Cook another hour.
• At the end add the cheese and reserved bacon and stir to incorporate.
• When reheating, you can add milk to thin if needed.

Some Tips

• Too chunky for a sore throat? Mash the veggies with a potato masher before serving.
• Still tastes bland to you? Add more seasoning or spice it up with some red pepper flakes.
• Don't have a crock pot? Instead of transferring to the crock pot, put everything into a dutch oven or big soup pot and simmer about 3 hours. Add the milks, flour and cheese at the end the same way.

Nutrition Facts

Per 8 ounce serving

• Calories: 580
• Total Fat 17g (saturated 9g, Trans fat 0g)
• Cholesterol 54mg
• Sodium 700mg
• Total carbohydrates 86g
• Dietary fiber: 9g
• Sugars: 10g
• Protein: 25g
• This dish is high in Vitamin A (148% RDA), Vitamin C (112%), Calcium (41%) and Iron (22%).

Remember! While you are undergoing cancer therapy is no time to be on a diet!