Category: Dinner

Beyond Chicken Corn Chowder

White bowl, on a Butcher Block counter top, full of Chicken Corn Chowder.

The Best Corn Chowder has Chicken

I can’t say enough about this recipe. Plus, I love practically anything “Chowder” so, it’s safe to say, being the author and all, that I might be a little bias. A Chowder is defined as a soup made with milk and/or cream, also a roux for thickening and the addition of seafood or vegetables or both. There are two other common ingredients, however, found in most Chowders; chopped onion and potatoes.

There are many different recipes out there, in this great abyss we call the web. Clam Chowder has always been one of my favorites and I like to make mine with bacon. There is of course other Seafood recipes, similar to this one, that add chunks of fish or shrimp and, of course, simple potato or corn chowder recipes.

For this particular chowder, I decided to step it up and make it chunky; like a stew. That’s why I’m calling it, “Beyond” Chicken Corn Chowder. I combined Chicken Chowder with Corn Chowder and I threw in a few more vegetables. In fact, the beautiful thing about this recipe, is it is interchangeable. It can be made with just the vegetables or the addition of Seafood, instead of Chicken.

If you want to make a vegetable chowder, just leave the chicken out and use a vegetable broth instead. If you want a Clam chowder, exchange the chicken broth for Clam juice and add chopped Clams instead. The same goes for seafood… shrimp or fish. Just swap the broth and the meat and your chowder flavor will follow.

Bulk of the Ingredients for Chicken Corn Chowder; A bag of Frozen Peas & Carrots, Corn, 2 bowls of Chopped Onion and Potatoes and a package of 5 Boneless Skinless chicken thighs.
Green Diamond Skillet with 5 seasoned and fully cooked Boneless Skinless Chicken thighs.
Large pot on the stove top full of the starting makes of a chicken corn chowder; chopped onion, butter seasoned potatoes.
One full ladle serving, over the soup pot, of chicken corn chowder.
One spoonful of chicken corn chowder, taken from a white bowl with a full serving of soup, on the counter.

Chicken Corn Chowder Ingredients: 8 to 10 servings

4 tbsp Butter
2 Russet Potatoes, cut into 1/2″ inch pieces
1 Onion, diced
1 cup peas, frozen bag
1 cup Carrot, frozen bag
1 cup Corn, frozen bag
1/3 cup Flour, all purpose
1 cup White Wine, sweet (I used homemade Roscatto)
1 qt Chicken Broth
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 lbs Chicken, 1″ inch cut portions
1 tsp Italian Seasoning or Parsley, dried
1/2 tsp Blackened Seasoning
1/4 tsp White Pepper

Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

Season Boneless Chicken Thighs with Kosher Salt and Pepper
and Blackened Seasoning. Could also use a dash of Cayenne
for spicier taste buds.

This Chowder is EXCELLENT for any recipe;
Clams, Chicken, fish and seafood or plain Corn Chowder.

Start the cooking in a large pot by adding the butter first, then the garlic, onion, carrot, corn and peas, then flour, wine and broth. Bring it to a boil, then add the potato(Tater Tots) and whipping cream. Stir until thickened and reduce heat to a
simmer. Add the Cod and season with dried Parsley, Kosher Salt and Pepper, Blackened Seasoning and white pepper.

Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll demonstrate exactly how to make this Chicken Corn Chowder.

Chili Colorado | Chili Con Carne

Chili Colorado made with beef cheek meat, served with steamed white rice, green onions and Cilantro.

Mexican Beef Chili

Most Texans believe they have the best chili in the world and they’re not wrong but there are some other Beef Chili recipes out there that have become an American Staple on Mexican Food. This Chili Colorado or Chili Con Carne, as it’s known in Tex Mex, is a great example. It’s origins, however, derive their flavor from the Chili Colorado, which means, ” Red Chili”; hence the name.

Stainless Steel bowl with a dozen Guajillo Chili’s.

The Chili Sauce Peppers

The very essence of this recipe comes from the flavor of the Chili Peppers that are cooked down and blended together, with a few other ingredients. Being that this recipe is called, “Chili Colorado” it would be assumed that the Colorado Chili should be used and, technically, that’s true but there are a few others that can be used that are practically the same thing.

California and Guajillo Chilis can be used as well. The only main difference is that they technically belong to different pepper families, though, all portraying that beautiful burgundy hugh that gives this recipe it’s rich color and flavor.

Though, 3/4 of the dried peppers I use in this recipe are red chili’s, it’s quite common to add a few dried Pasilla pods as well. These peppers are much darker and look and smell like a cross between a pepper and a prune. All of which are de-seeded and have the stems removed, before cooking.

40 oz of red chili sauce in a large container and spoonful of sauce.
2.75 lbs of cubed and seasoned beef cheek meat in a large stainless steel bowl.

The Beef you should use

In this recipe I’m using Beef Cheek Meat, which takes a lot longer to tenderize when it’s cooking. In fact, unlike how I demonstrate in the video tutorial, it took me 6 hours of braising to get this meat to break down the connective tissue and become tender enough to eat. Big but here, though, the flavor Cabasa or “Cheek Meat” gives off is stronger, like lamb or venison. If you have either of those available, for a good price, I recommend using those instead. Otherwise, for this recipe, stick with a couple of lbs of Beef Chuck.

Chili Colorado/Chili Con Carne, in a large pot, ready to be served.
How to make Chili Colorado video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.
How to make Red Chili Sauce video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.
Chili Colorado Ingredients:

4 to 5 lbs Beef Chuck, cut into 1″ to 2″ inch pieces

Guajillo or Chili Sauce

12 Guajillo Chili pods, stemmed and de-seeded
3 Pasilla Chili pods, stemmed and de-seeded
3 qt. Water
5 Cloves Garlic
1/4 cup Knorr Chicken Bouillon
1 tbsp Cumin, ground
1 tbsp Mexican Oregano, dried
Adobe All Purpose seasoning to taste (1/4 to 1/2 tsp)

Meat and Seasoning

Beef, Pork or Chicken

Kosher Salt and Pepper, evenly sprinkle
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika, evenly sprinkle (optional)
1 tbsp Ground Cumin, evenly sprinkle (optional)

Sear seasoned meat ,10 to 12 minutes, under Broiler or in a pan or on a Grill. Then Braise in Guajillo Sauce 1 1/2, lid on, another 1/2 hour, lid off to reduce sauce, if needed. Otherwise, keep the lid on. 2 hours full cook time.

This is great, served with steamed rice or in tacos and burritos.

Picanha Steak | Top Sirloin Caps

Easy Barbecue

If you’re not familiar with Picanha, just know that it is the caps of Top Sirloin and that it isn’t an overused muscle so, the meat tends to be super tender when it’s cooked. It’s also fairly inexpensive and the popularity of these cuts are growing because of the amazing results achieved from a simple barbecue or rotisserie. Brazilian restaurants like Rodizio’s and Tucanos have introduced this style of cooking and slapped the staple on this fine cut.

Preparing Picanha

Technically, you can cut up these caps and serve them any way you like. I tend to clean each cut, cutting away the silverskin and unwanted fat, and then slice the steak ,with the grain, into for pieces; all being equal in thickness not length. These steaks can then be seasoned and cooked as is or shanked onto shish kebab skewers for a rotisserie or easy flipping on the grill or under a broiler.

Grilling Top Sirloin Caps

The easiest way to cook these Picanha steaks on the grill is cook on low, with the lid down. I time it, flipping every five minutes for approximately 20 minutes total. It’s not a bad idea to monitor the internal temp with a meat thermometer, if you’re a bit inexperienced, especially if you like to “reverse sear”. In this video tutorial, I demonstrate grilling under bad circumstances to show you how to overcome hot spots and flare ups.

final results

Truthfully, these are the WORST looking picanha steaks I could’ve put on camera but, as you can see down below, the results were tremendous. So, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. These steaks were great and I even made tacos, the next day, with the leftovers.

Picanha Top sirloin Steak Ingredients:

2 Top Sirloin Caps

1 tbsp Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Kosher Salt and Pepper

Blackened Seasoning, optional