Print the recipe card!  chicken and corn chowder with sweet potatoes

Two unlikely ingredients make this thick and hearty corn chowder a great food storage recipe!  Warning:  by revealing these ingredients you’re likely to read on and think I’ve lost it…(news flash, I lost it a loong time ago ;))…either that or you’ll forge ahead and try it anyway.  I hope you will.  Get ready… and try to keep a straight face!

serves 6-8

***

Ingredients:

2 (12 oz.) cans evaporated milk

1  (8 oz.) box yellow corn muffin mix

3/4 c. freeze dried onion flakes or one onion chopped (*see notes)

1/2 cup water (for rehydrating onion — unnecessary if using fresh onion)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cumin powder

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 (49 oz.) + 1 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth

2 (12.5) cans canned chicken, shredded, reserving liquid

1 1/2 cups freeze dried sweet potato

1/2 cup freeze dried cheddar cheese or 1 cup fresh

2 (15 oz.) cans whole kernel corn, undrained

And finally, the “top secret” flavor boosting (and still shelf stable) ingredient …

1 (2.5 oz) container sweet potato baby food puree

Instructions:

Rehydrate onion using 1/2 cup hot water.  Mix milk and muffin mix in a small bowl and set aside.  In a pot sautee the onion (undrained) with the garlic powder, cumin and oregano until fragrant.  Add broth, chicken, sweet potato and corn.  Heat to boiling, cover and turn off heat.  Allow to sit for 15 minutes until sweet potato dices are soft.  Add in milk mixture, cheese and sweet potato puree and simmer until thickened and cheese is melted (10 minutes).  Serve.

****

Rehydrate freeze dried onion.  Separately, combine milk and corn muffin mix.

In a pot, cook the onions (without draining) together with garlic powder, cumin and oregano.  Shred the chicken while reserving the liquid from the canned chicken to add in with the broth.

Add the two cans of broth, freeze dried sweet potatoes, the shredded chicken and the corn.  Bring all to a boil, cover and turn off heat.  Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Following the 15 minutes…

Once the sweet potato dices are soft, stir in the milk mixture, the freeze dried cheese (straight from the can) and the sweet potato puree…

Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes until it’s thickened and the cheese is melted.  Serve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes:

• If using a fresh onion instead of the freeze dried, sautee chopped onion in 2 TBS butter until soft and proceed with remaining instructions.  Fresh sweet potato can also be used alternately.  If doing so, chop two medium sized (peeled) sweet potatoes and add in as usual.  As with the initial instructions, you’ll again allow the soup to sit 15 minutes for the sweet potatoes to cook before continuing with the rest of the recipe.