Spicy Sweet Potato-Corn Chowder with Bacon

I can admit I’m a bit of a California dork…we had our first kinda, sorta rain today and I thought – ohh, it’s fall, soup weather! #FlashbackFriday – This soup captures some of my favorite things from both seasons.

During the summer, I love Simply Filling because of all the fresh fruits and vegetables you can find at just about every Farmer’s Market in town.  During the winter, Simply Filling is all about delicious, hearty, filling soups, stews and chili’s.  This Simply Filling Spicy Sweet Potato-Corn Chowder with “Bacon” captures all the seasonal items I love and miss throughout the year.

The smoky, corn kernels (grill it fresh or buy it frozen!) add sweet crunch and the chipotle peppers bring a little smoky heat to this corn chowder that blends so well with the creamy sweet potatoes and salty “bacon”.  Serve it up with warm sour down bread, Parmesan Almond Crisps or a little Crunchy Apple Salad to make it a complete meal.

This recipe is so delicious, I wish I had thought of it on my own.  This is my spin on the Weight Watchers Spicy Sweet Potato-Corn Chowder recipe from the Weight Watchers I Love Leftovers Cookbook.

SPICY SWEET POTATO-CORN CHOWDER WITH “BACON” (print it!)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp flour
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 32 oz low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 chiptole in adobo sauce
• 2 cups Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Frozen Corn or fresh corn
• 6 oz lean Canadian bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup fat free half and half or milk
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• sea salt & black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion through garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle the flour and cayenne pepper over the vegetable mixture and stir constantly, cooking for 1 minute.

2.  Add broth, sweet potato and chipotle pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in corn, Canadian bacon and half-and-half.  Cook until heated through, about 3-4 minutes longer.

3.  Scoop into 6 soup bowls, top with chives and serve.

Makes 6 servings, 100% Simply Filling, 4 SmartPoints, 3 points+ each

Nutritional information per serving calculated at caloriecount.com

STEP – BY – STEP:

While the oil heats, chop the vegetables, sweet potato and ham.

Add the onion, pepper, celery and garlic to the oil and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for an additional minute stirring constantly.

Add the sweet potato deliciousness!

Chipotle pepper (one pepper goes a long way for smoky heat!) and broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potato is firm, but, soft.

The “Star” of this recipe is the sweet fire roasted corn ~ this corn really plays up the smokiness of the spicy chipotle pepper and it pairs nicely the creamy sweet potato bits and spicy “bacon”.

You can use any fresh or frozen corn and it does not have to be fire roasted….but, if you have it, try it!

Add the “bacon”, corn and half and half or milk.  I just used fat free milk because it’s what I had on hand.  Both are Simply Filling and add a nice creamy, richness to the soup.

Scoop into soup bowls, decorate with chives and dig in!

This soup freezes well in individual servings and is perfect for those  nights when you really do not want to cook.

I will catch up with you all later tomorrow if we do not get back from my nephews football game too late or this weekend.

Night all!