Soup Series A: Crockpot Recipe #3 – Fish Chowder (The Finale)

This morning I asked Ken if he wanted a turkey or ham sandwich for lunch; he normally eats beef bologna, but we were out.  Imagine my utter shock when he said “NO MEAT, MOM!”  After only two Religious Ed classes, he already knew about and remembered Lenten Friday abstinence.  (This is the same child who can’t remember to put his violin in the music room when he gets home from school).

I guess when one chooses his or her own religion, it’s truly a personal commitment; he reminds me of my childhood friend Carol, who also decided to become Catholic when she switched from the local public school to our all-girls Catholic school.  I was her godmother and she was always absolute in her faith and belief; I hope Ken turns out the same!

Thankfully, I had leftover mac ‘n’ cheese which I promptly nuked and stuffed into his thermos.  As for dinner– what serendipity!  I had decided earlier in the week to complete my crock pot soup series, and the last soup is a fish chowder.  (I guess I’ll have to pay more attention to Friday meals from now on).

The chowder is from the same Better Homes and Gardens slow-cooker page.  You can get it here.  When I reviewed the recipe, I was a bit concerned about adding a can of tomatoes and powdered milk at the end of the recipe (would it cook properly?), but, once again, I gave it a try.  As for the canned soup, it’s at least one I keep in my pantry for tuna noodle casserole.

I cut my fish into chunks instead of leaving them as whole fillets, and I didn’t buy separate bags of baby lima beans and corn; I bought a single 1-lb bag of corn and lima bean succotash.  It’s a little bit of chopping and adding as you go (fish, tomatoes and powdered milk).  Pretty easy.

Here’s how you make it.

Dice the potatoes, chop the onions and mince the garlic (how easy is that).

Dice the potatoes fairly small to ensure they cook all the way through!

Whisk together the chicken broth, wine and cream of celery soup in a large measuring cup.

Use a whisk to break up the condensed soup

Layer the ingredients into the crock pot as follows– first, potatoes and onions and garlic,

The root vegetables

then, the frozen succotash and lemon pepper,

Pretty!

finally the broth, wine and condensed soup.

Yes, it’s condensed soup mixed with wine and broth

Cook on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or low for 6 to 7 hours.   During this time, thaw the fish and cut it into chunks.  (You can quick thaw fish by placing it in a zip lock bag and submerging in a bowl of cold water).  Change the water periodically until fish has thawed).  After the prescribed cooking time, add the fish on top of the chowder and turn the setting to high if needed.

No need to push them down into the liquid

Cook the fish for 1 hour (it should flake easily).  Stir in the tomatoes and powdered milk.

I used diced tomatoes

You’re done!

The tomatoes give the soup a pinkish tinge which looks pretty against the fish, potatoes, corn and limas!

Looks pretty good for a crock pot soup, don’t you think?

Easy. Tasty. Hearty.

Afterthoughts:

I was surprised how flavorful and creamy the soup was with so few ingredients; that can of condensed soup mixed with the broth and wine made a good cooking liquid.  The powdered milk at the end further enriched the soup; it’s a trick I may try for my stove top soups!

Since I used the salt-laden canned soup, I didn’t add any additional salt; however, Kurt thought it needed just a little more seasoning and he salted his bowl at the table.  I added oyster crackers to my bowl; the salt from the crackers was sufficient for me and I didn’t add any more salt.  Ken was so-so about the soup; at first, he said it was “terrible,” but I noticed he sucked down the entire bowl.  My guess is that he could initially discern the white wine (I didn’t tell him up front because then he would have never tried it).