Lunch for Under $5: Just Say Soup Please
Doesn’t this corn chowder look delicious?
It’s what I had for lunch today with a friend. A tip to keep down lunch out costs is to order a soup - a cup or small bowl is usually only $3-$6. That’s not a hardship at all, because I love soup (even on a really hot day, if the restaurant is air-conditioned).
Of course, soups might not be enough if I’m really hungry, but that wasn’t the case this morning.
I really love corn chowders and bisques, so I figured I should learn how to make one. I like thick, creamy chowders with most of the kernels blended. Does anyone have a good recipe that’s not too difficult?
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10 Responses to “Lunch for Under $5: Just Say Soup Please”
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i almost ALWAYS eat soup for lunch. delicious!
I have the best corn chowder recipe. It comes from the book Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker book by Robin Robertson.
I love it because it freezes well and I can double it easily. Also, it’s nice and thick and definitely enough for a meal.
Corn Chowder
slow cooker size: 4-6qts
cook time: 6 hours
setting: low
1 TB olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced
3 cups frozen corn kernels (or you can use fresh)
1/2 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cups vegetable stock (if you eat meat, you can use a chicken stock)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large ripe tomato, seeded and chopped
1 TB snipped fresh chives, parsley, or other fresh herbs
1) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2) Transfer the cooked beggies to a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Add the potato, corn, bell pepper and stck; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours.
3) Ladle 2 cups of the soup solids into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Stir the puree back into the chowder and taste for salt & pepper. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the chopped tomato and chives or other fresh herbs.
@Victoria
Perhaps we need to add lunch onto our book-hunting excursion.
@V
Thanks! That sounds really good…
Well-Heeled,
I love this recipe because it uses milk… (I use 5 cups milk and one cup heavy cream… heaven!) Its a creamy, dreamy, soup. Enjoy!
Corn Chowder – Williams Sonoma
Ingredients:
4 bacon slices, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
6 cups milk
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
12 ears of corn, kernels removed, 6 corncobs
reserved
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a slow cooker.
Pour off all but 1 Tbs. of the drippings from the pan. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, milk, potatoes, corn and reserved corncobs to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Remove the corncobs and discard. Using a stick blender, puree the chowder directly in the slow cooker to the desired consistency. Alternatively, in a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Stir in the chives. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.
I haven’t tried this one yet, but it looks good!
Creamy Corn Chowder – adapted from Tyler Florence
2 tablespoons butter
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ¼ tsp. dried thyme
¼ cup all-purpose flour
5 c. low sodium vegetable stock
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1 c. heavy cream
1 16 oz bag frozen corn
1 15 oz can cream style corn
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley leaves
Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well. Pour in the vegetable stock and the potato, bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potato breaks down.
Add the frozen corn and cream style corn to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the corn is soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the cream, then add the parsley. Use an immersion blender to puree half of the soup.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
I love soup! And I can also eat it on a hot day. Lots of my friends always give me weird looks when I order it on a hot day, but I find that it cools me down
My faves?
Tomato soup
Lobster bisque
Minestrone
Albondigas (Mexican meatball soup)
I looove soups too! Here is a post I wrote about my absolute favorite soup ever: http://myprettypennies.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/taco-soup/
It’s so easy and great to freeze for later. The first cold day of the year, I plan to make a huge pot of it. Ooooh I love autumn!
Ha, I just noticed you asked for Corn Chowder recipes! Sorry, I don’t have one but I’m definitely going to try to make one of the above.
I’m not much of a recipe user when it comes to cooking, so I’ll just give you a tip instead, which can be used in conjunction with any of the previously posted recipes:
Roast the corn in the oven before using it in your soup.
Spread it in a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper it and toss it in the oven at 425 for about 30-40 minutes.
Once you add it to your soup and blend it, it gives the soup a really lovely nutty, smoky flavor.
Also, one of my favorite bargains is the enormous bags of frozen corn at Costco for $5. You can make A LOT of soup with that thing.
@Michele
The roasting tip sounds great… I’m going to try it.
@Revanche
I don’t have a slow cooker, so I think I’ll try your recipe first. Must borrow a blender though.
@Everyone
Thanks for the recipes! I’ll post pictures.