mexican chicken corn chowder

As soon as the temperature begins to drop, it seems as though all I crave are warm one pot soups and chowders for weeknight dinners that also carry over into easy leftovers that travel well to work. In the past month alone I have made a roasted red pepper and gruyere bisque, East Hampton clam chowder, turkey chili, rosemary white bean soup (the only total flop by the way), roasted butternut squash soup (one of my personal favorites) and Tyler Florence's corn chowder. (I just need to take a brief moment here to point out to someone ahem the husband that if I were to purchase a dutch oven such as a Le Creuset, it would certainly be put to good use and could have been used to make all of these things!)

Even though I had already made one pot of corn chowder recently, I just had to test out this updated  mexican version since I am a mexican food fanatic. I could easily eat some variation of mexican food every day of the week and never get tired of it- case in point, last night we went out for mexican.

I did make a few small adjustments to the original recipe as I cooked and tasted, such as adding extra corn and heat through extra hot sauce and a fresh jalapeno. I also used a rotisserie chicken purchased at the supermarket since I was short on time and am a cilantro enthusiast, so I stirred in about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro to the final product instead of using it as a garnish alone. Finally, serve topped with some sour cream, and of course another dash of hot sauce and you're good to go. 
A few calories could be saved by substituting some if not all of the half and half with milk, and only using a small amount of butter to sautee the onions and garlic.

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
Adapted from this recipe by Jeanne Jones

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces- 1 rotisserie chicken works well here as a time saver.
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups fat free half-and-half cream
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn plus 1/2 bag frozen corn or 1 additional can plain corn
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce, plus a few more dashes to taste (recommend, cholula my personal favorite)
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro plus fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven sautee onion, and garlic in butter for around 10 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add the chopped jalapeno and sautee a few more moments. Add the chopped chicken.
2. Dissolve the bouillon in hot water; Pour into Dutch oven, and season with cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in cream, cheese, corn, green chilis, and hot pepper sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted. Stir in chopped tomatoes. Just before serving, stir in chopped cilantro.

and the hydrangeas that kept me company while I cooked tonight

{a surprise from the hubby}