Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Okay, it’s been too hot for soup, but if I don’t record the changes I made to this Chipotle Chicken and Corn Chowder, I’m going to forget what I did completely.  (And that would be a shame, because I really enjoyed it with the changes.)

First off, you have to understand that I like smoky, and I like corn chowder, and chicken and potatoes thrown into the mix is fine with me, but I don’t like peppers.  (Sorry, Mom.  I don’t care for peppers.)  Aspects of this recipe really appealed, however, and so I consulted my friend Andrea about the best way to alter it for my heat-sensitive family.  (We’re wimps–at least, most of us are.  And we’re okay with that.)

So.  Red bell pepper was never going to happen in my kitchen voluntarily, but onion seemed like a perfectly reasonable substitute.  (After all, they’re both aromatics, and who makes soup without onions, anyway?)  I didn’t have poblanos, and Andrea warned me that you can get the occasional hotter one, so I used 2 4-oz cans of (mild!) diced green chilies instead.  As for the chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, I simply didn’t double that amount when doubling everything else.  I could have used a bit more smokiness AND tolerated a bit more heat myself, but my 8-year-old had trouble with it as it was, so it worked out.  (Maybe a touch of smoked paprika next time–when I saute the onion?)  That basically covers my changes–I don’t consider using 1% milk instead of whole a major change in soup, although I may have used a can of evaporated milk as part of it as well–and several of us really enjoyed it.  (A warning, though–when you double it, it makes a LOT.)  It’s even likely to happen again at some point, despite the detractors.  We’ll see what happens in the fall!