Saturday, October 27, 2012

Simply Saturday Guest Blogger Mary Connealy's Easy Shrimp Chowder

I picked this one from Mary's collection of "quick and easy" recipes because it's cold and rainy right now.

If it had been hot and sunny, I might have moved to chopped Julienne salad or something like that.

(Okay,PAUSE RIGHT NOW FOR A REALITY CHECK. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND OR LEFT BRAIN THINKS MARY CONNEALY, FARM WIFE EXTRA-ORDINAIRE, WRITER OF AWESOME AWARD-WINNING NOVELS MAKES JULIENNE SALAD FOR HER COWBOY HUSBAND??????)

Exactly!

Back to: EASY SHRIMP CHOWDER

1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 to 2 cups sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 Tablespoon butter
12-16 oz. fresh or frozen shrimp 
2 cans cream of potato soup (Ruthy note: Bear Creek Cream of Potato soup would be even better, just make according to directions and use seasonings listed here)

8 oz package cream cheese, light  (You know that's not a Ruthy recommendation, right? Because why on earth are you making chowder with cream of potato soup and going with light cream cheese. Use the real stuff and don't TELL MARY.)

2 soup cans milk (if you use canned soup)

If you use the Bear Creek Soup, double the seasonings listed here. Bear Creek makes a 1/2 gallon of deliciousness. Twice the seasonings works out perfectly.)

Saute the onion, garlic and cayenne pepper in the butter (I added a smidge more butter, but not to Paula Deen levels, more like... Julia Child levels. Like 1/4 cup)

Blend these seasonings into soup. Add the shrimp and mushrooms about ten minutes before serving and let them heat through. A cooked, cubed potato or two is never a bad idea, right?

I'm Irish. There is no such thing as too many potatoes.  :)

Serve hot with crusty bread on the side, and do NOT COUNT CARBS TONIGHT.

Really.

Spare yourself the angst.

For this one time, ignore the carb count and enjoy!

12 comments:

  1. First, I love Mary's Easy Peasy recipes. She and I share a simple philosophy:

    We'd rather be writing.

    So our men-folk have manned up and taken over the kitchen most nights, and that comes with the occasional challenge (you know what I mean!!!) but... if it's a question of Suzy Homemaker or writer-who-receives-checks in mail, most men will don an apron!

    I love shrimp chowder, and I did this with the Bear Creek soup mix instead... and I'm sitting here, thinking it would be great with the broccoli cheese soup mix, too, especially with a generous dose of cajun seasoning and a few jots of red pepper sauce... Kind of a Cajun Cheese shrimp chowder, right????

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  2. Soup is welcome anytime the temps dip below 60 degrees :)

    And I laughed at the thought of Mary making a julienne salad for her cowboy! Just imagine Mary and julienned strips of ham...and turkey...and cheese.... I don't think she'd get more than two or three strips cut before she'd be taking a cleaver to that hunk of meat and demolishing it.

    I know I wouldn't make it that far.

    Thanks for sharing the recipe, Ruthy!

    We have a chilly, clear morning here in the Black Hills. Twenty-seven degrees and frost on the ground. I hope we'll get to go up in the Hills this afternoon, but I have a baby-shower/brunch to go to (I love baby showers, don't you?) and my dear husband has no hopes of seeing me before supper time. He thinks once a bunch of women get together and start talking about babies, there's no stopping them.

    Well, maybe he's right :)

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    Replies
    1. Jan, babies?????? Oh, I LOVE ME SOME BABIES!!!! :) I love baby showers, I love a good gab-fest with great food and CAKE.

      Oh, send me some cake, pretty, pretty please!!!!

      Yeah, the salad thing... that wasn't working for me, either! :) But Ivan's such a good sport, he'd eat it and be thrilled she made it for him. Because he's that nice.

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  3. Not counting carbs 'just today' is how I got into my generally oval shape. :(

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  4. I love ANY kind of soup, on any day of the week, cold or otherwise. Unfortunately, my hubby is allergic to shellfish so I wouldn't be popular if I tried to serve this one. But it sounds SOOOOO good and the base sounds so easy that maybe it's worth making it without the shrimp. Maybe I could make it a fish chowder using chunks of salmon and halibut???

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    Replies
    1. Carol, sure you could! Or chicken like Mary said. Although she replied WAY DOWN THERE because she didn't realize our blog is fiendishly clever!

      Silly Mary!

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  5. Mary, your comment about the oval shape made me think of a professor I had in college. He was quite... rotund. He was teaching a class on ancient religions and there was a group that believed in heaven we would all be round, because that was the perfect shape.

    Then he said, sort of to himself, 'And some of us are trying to acheive that perfection in this life, too.'

    Ha!

    And I'm going to make this today. Wish me luck. I've never made a chowder in my life but I love to EAT THEM. So, that should work, rght?

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    1. Ginny-Lou-Who, tell us what you think! I really think it would taste great with that extra shot of cajun... I love cajun dishes in moderation, and yet I can't eat Mexican to save my life.

      I'm craving cake right now. Which clearly means I should be in a bakery, right?

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  6. Carol, maybe you could use chicken? and I have no idea what a julienne is.
    I may name a heroine that.

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    Replies
    1. Julienne was a prince, dear.

      Or a stupid teenage girl who thought she killed her fiance and ate poison, but then he stopped pretending to be dead and woke up and she was dead so he died too.

      I don't think Love Inspired would go for that scenario. I can't say's I blame 'em.

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  7. I forgot to stop by yesterday!! I guess I had julienned brains. ;)

    Mary, this looks amazing and simple! I DO LOVE simple. I can't wait to make this as the cold front is coming through.

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