Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

We had some friends come through recently, and this soup hit the spot for a nice easy meal. We made it the night before, and then reheated gently. The flavors really blended overnight.

We made it again tonight (I forgot to grab a photo) because all of us in the house are getting colds (not fun :( But this wonderful and easy chowder was just delightful. I grilled some chicken breasts prior to starting this recipe, and then used some of the chicken for the kids' quesadillas, and then served a cheese quesadilla with the soup as well.

This is a variation on shrimp chowder from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped serrano chile (about 1 small)
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes, diced, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (15.25-ounce) can whole-kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
• 1 pound cooked chicken
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 
  
• Prep
• Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell pepper, and serrano chile to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

Add canned chiles to pan; cook 1 minute. Add flour to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir in milk and next 5 ingredients (through corn); bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick.

Stir in chicken; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.