Recipe Remake: Lexi's Spicy Crab & Corn Chowder...

With the Christmas holiday drawing near, I plan on cooking big.

So, I have been doing a lot of soups for dinner lately.

I like them because they are cheap, hearty and last me for a week! Not to mention this variation is not bad on calories and will help me stick to my fitness goals. Not Bad!

It is ALWAYS amazing when Lexi of BeautyFash: From Sequins to Cilantro, invites us into her kitchen.

You know you are going to be in for a treat when she showcases what she is whipping up on her blog.

I like that the recipes are detailed and have step by step pictures that make them easy to follow.

When I saw that Lexi (and another one of the bloggers I follow both) made corn chowder, I knew I had to give this recipe a go myself.

I like Lexi's version because it is really easy to follow. A lot of recipes call for you to put half the soup in a blender to make it thicker. Lexi does a little trick in the end with a cornstarch paste that is just as effective and with less clean-up!

I give you, my recipe remake of Lexi's Spicy Crab & Corn Chowder!

Her Recipe Calls for...(my substitutions are in bold)

Ingredients:

1 can of crab meat*              I used two because mine was shaved crab meat

2 10 oz. boxes of frozen corn*  I used a 12oz bag

3 cans of chicken broth      I used a 32oz box

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream I used 1 pint...but 1/2 pint is recommended

2 medium carrots, finely diced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1 medium-large onion, finely diced

1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely diced

6 strips of bacon {or turkey bacon}, finely diced I used precooked bacon

2 heaping tablespoons flour I used wheat flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of cold water

2 {heaping for me!} tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning I used 4 tablespoons of Tony Chachery's Creole Seasoning

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper {or more if you like it really spicy}

1/2 stick of butter I used Pam Olive Oil Nonstick Spray

1 tablespoon olive oil I omitted this ingredient

 

I hate chopping veggies so I cheated and got the ones already prepared in the produce section of my local store. The only thing I DID chop was the carrots. I will tell you there is something about fresh veggies that do so much for the flavor of a soup. While copping my carrots, I preheated a large soup pot on the stove over med. heat.

I also used already cooked bacon. It comes just barely browned so I had enough room to crisp it a little more to get the fat from it.

See what I mean, that's my bacon BEFORE I crisped it.

 

And this is after and while still in my soup pot. I used six slices.

After removing my bacon and setting it to the side, I sprayed some Olive Oil Pam nonstick spray in the pot, along with the bacon grease, to substitute for butter.  My pot is still warming on med. heat at this point.

I added my veggies, sautéing them in the oils and seasoned them with Morton's Nature's Season with no MSG! I love this stuff. It's like a seasoned salt and pepper blend.

Next I added two heaping tablespoons of King Arthur Wheat Flour to the veggies. I sprayed a little more Non-Stick Spray right afterwards and stirred, to insure the veggies were coated well with wheat flour.  

Then I added one box of Swanson 99% Fat Free Chicken broth slowly to the mixture, stirring after each addition. (You should do this about 4-5 times, adding the broth and then stirring, adding more broth and then stirring).  Then I let this come to a boil (Still on med. heat).

I added these seasonings to my broth and veggie mixture, 1tbls of the paprika and cayenne and 4tbls of the Tony Chachere's .

After simmering about 3 minutes, I added one 12oz bag of frozen corn and two cans of crab meat. (The brand I used gave me crab shavings instead of chunks...Really?) I let the soup simmer for 5 minutes and then reduced the heat to med. low.

Then I added a pint of heavy whipping cream. (That may have been too much because my soup went from a golden brown to white...but...it still tasted good! Next time I'll do a 1/2 pint, which is recommended.)

I let it simmer for another 3 minutes before I added 2tbls of corn starch and 1tbls of cold water.

Then I stirred, let it cook for another three minutes before turning the stove completely off and covered it.  I added the cooked bacon as well.

 The extra small bowl I sampled tasted AMAZING, but I will eat it for dinner tomorrow and throughout the week with some low fat corn bread!

Thank You Lexi!!!!!