15 November, 2013
Crock Pot Crab and Corn Chowder
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
3 ½ cups low-sodium, 99 percent fat-free chicken broth (2 cans 14½ ounces each)
½ pound all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup baby carrots, cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 medium-size onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, trimmed and diced
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 package frozen yellow corn
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup loosely packed crab meat or 1 package (8 ounces) imitation crab meat
Dash Hot sauce, to taste
Preparation:
Combine chicken broth, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, thyme and Old Bay in a large crock pot. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
In a bowl, stir together red pepper, evaporated milk, cornstarch and salt.
Stir red pepper mixture into slow cooker, replace cover and cook on either HIGH or LOW for 1 hour.
Stir yellow corn and crabmeat into soup and heat through.
Serve warm with a dash of your favorite Louisiana hot sauce, with a loaf of hot crusty bread and butter.
Notes:
When I lived in San Francisco, I learned that Dungeness Crab season started in the middle of November, always in time for including fresh crab at Thanksgiving, which is a tradition in Northern California. This chowder is great for dinner on chilly late autumn nights.