It’s hard to beat a good chowder with Southern charm. This Quinoa Corn Chowder by Trisha Yearwood is hearty comfort food at it’s finest without being too heavy. It is a delightful way to get some nutrient-packed quinoa, shrimp, and potatoes into your family. A little Old Bay along with scallions, garlic, onions and parsley flavor this chowder, and a little bacon lends a smoky, salty crunch. Sweet corn rounds it all out. Be sure to fit this into your soup rotation before summer hits – you won’t be sorry.
Tips (unsponsored): Costco is our first choice for shrimp, but it’s not always on our route the day we get a hankering for this chowder. Walmart’s medium shrimp works fine in this dish. We also love the small baby yellow potatoes we find at Walmart. Grab a bag of the smallest ones and cut them in quarters to ensure that you don’t end up waiting around all day for the potatoes to finish cooking. This recipe calls for cooking your own bacon, but we just pop some pre-cooked bacon from Costco in the microwave to eliminate that step.
Let your kids remove parsley leaves from their stems (even though the stems are perfectly fine to use. The assignment will help them feel needed and keep those naughty little fingers busy while you prep). As you prepare and enjoy this satisfying chowder with those you love, teach them a few things about some of the ingredients:
- Corn has a lot of lutein, which is great for your eyes.
- Shrimp is a good source of copper, which strengthens your body tissue.
- Quinoa provides you with more and better protein than other grains.
Given it’s Southern flare, let’s learn a few things about Texas:
- A whopping seventy percent of Texans live within 200 miles of Austin.
- On the other side of the spectrum is Loving, TX, which is one of the least (if not the least) populated counties in the U.S.
- About eighty percent of Texas is farmland.
From: Trisha Yearwood’s Quinoa Corn Chowder
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ cup quinoa
- 2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
- 5 cups chicken stock (TAC note: please use stock, not broth. Kitchen Basics is preferred - unsponsored).
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 4 ounces bacon (about 6 slices. TAC note: Use pre-cooked if you prefer to skip cooking the bacon)
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 4 scallions, finely chopped
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large stockpot over medium heat, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and saute until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the quinoa and corn and saute for 3 more minutes. Add the stock, heavy cream, potatoes and Old Bay. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until the quinoa and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes (TAC note: 20 minutes if they are cut small).
- Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces and add to a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook until browned and crisp, about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Set aside.
- Add the shrimp to the chowder and cook until they are pink and opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Just before serving, add the parsley, scallions and bacon.
Leave a Reply