Curried Chicken Chowder

I am so ready for spring to start next week. While I don't mind winter, this winter has been colder and had far more snow than we normally receive. Even my kids are sick of the snow and complained when my oldest was out of school for snow days twice last week. I think everyone in my house is ready for a little bit of warmer weather and sunshine. Granted we will start complaining about the heat and humidity in the summer (I hate humidity), but for now the 60 degree weather we had yesterday was perfect. Spring also gets me excited about gardening, which I love. It's a great way for me to relax and I love eating all the vegetables and fruit I am able to grow in our backyard. So I am impatiently waiting for the nights to get warm so I can start my planting.

Since our weather was cold last week I made a number of soups and stews. One of the new recipes I tried was for Curried Chicken Chowder from the November 2013 issue of Southern Living Magazine.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 1 hour of total time, 40 minutes of which is active, and makes 16 cups. I made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used frozen corn. Fresh corn is hard to find in the winter and frozen is much cheaper. I added the corn frozen and it worked well. For the coconut milk I used light coconut milk and added a tablespoon of corn starch mixed with water to the chowder as a thickener to make up for the fat. Finally, I used homemade chicken broth. The taste is better and it is far cheaper than store bought.

If you are looking to feed a crowd this is a great recipe. It made enough for three meals for my family. I served the chowder with naan bread for the rest of my family, which worked well flavor wise. The edamame is a great way to add protein and add a little bit of crunch to the chowder. Plus using chicken left from another recipe is a great way to save money.

For the recipe go to Curried Chicken Chowder. 

Martha Stewart Living Edamame Hummus

I'm a snacker. I've never been one to eat three large meals, instead I eat 6-7 small meals every couple of hours throughout the day. This has been the way I have eaten as far back as I can remember. Growing up I was heavily involved in dance and swimming so I got used to eating small meals to keep my blood sugar steady and my stomach from feeling heavy. I'm lucky that I have a high metabolism, but it also has the effect of making me want to snack all the time. It seems that my two sons have inherited my love of snacking and by the time my oldest comes home from school he is more than ready for a snack. I am always looking for snacking options high in protein and I was interested when I ran across a recipe for Edamame Hummus in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has 6 ingredients. It takes one hour and fifteen minutes, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 to 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. I did add more than the suggested amount of Tahini, probably twice as much since I love the taste. Make sure to taste the hummus after it has been salted before adding more lemon juice. The salt makes a significant difference in the taste so wait to taste for additions until after the hummus has been salted. I allowed the hummus to sit in the fridge overnight to allow for the full flavor to come out. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

The nutty flavor from the edamame is delicious in this recipe. My husband was particularly found of this recipe and ate more than half by himself. It was a great after-school snack for my oldest and held his energy and hunger until dinner. I liked that this recipe offered a different spin on traditional hummus and a great source of protein. This will definitely be a recipe I will be making again in the future.

For the recipe go to Edamame Hummus.