Re-Sip-P Of The Week: Spicy Vegetable Chowder In The Slow-cooker

Last night I made a spicy vegetable chowder and quesadillas for dinner. It turned out hotter than I expected, but was not only edible but delicioso!

Spicy Vegetable Chowder

You will need:

• About 6 cups of broth
• 1 small bag of frozen corn (I used half the bag)
  
• 1 small bag of frozen lima beans (I used one small box in its entirety)
  
• 1-2 large squash, cut into chunks (if you want a thicker soup, use more squash)
  
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 mild pepper, diced
  
• Optional: 1/2 red pepper, diced
• Optional: 2 slices of a hot pepper
• S & P
• Dash of cumin
• Optional: feta cheese to sprinkle on top (I used homemade buttermilk cheese instead, but feta will work just as well.)

To make:

1. Place 3 cups of broth in the slow-cooker/crockpot.
2. Add all the vegetables. Or you can reserve some of the corn and 1 carrot to toss in near the end of the cooking process to add some crunch and texture.
   
3. If the vegetables are not covered by the liquid, add more broth until all veggies are just submerged. One thing that distinguishes this "chowder" from a typical veggie soup is the amount of broth. I kept it as minimal as possible to keep the final product thick. But you want to make sure everything is cooked sufficiently in the liquid.
   
4. Add a dash of S & P and a dash of cumin.
5. Allow to cook on low for ~8 hours.
   
6. Ladle into bowls and serve with garnish of crumbled cheese.
   

To make the quesadillas I allowed about 1 tsp of real butter to melt in a saute pan on medium heat. Then I placed one corn tortilla in the pan and covered it with a small amount of shredded mozzarella cheese and a few pieces of crumbled blue cheese. Then I topped it with another corn tortilla and cooked it liked a grilled cheese, flipping from time to time, until both sides were browned.

Side note: I prefer corn tortillas to flour. Corn tortillas provide about 50 calories each, while flour tortillas can pack on at least 150, but usually over 200. Additionally, corn tortillas contain less ingredients and have a robust flavor. If you don't like corn tortillas, use flour, just be aware of the calorie content and portion (use just one flour tortilla folded in half rather than two per each quesadilla.)

It didn't produce a large quantity, but it made enough to fill up both me and Sir Cakewalk and I was able to pack up a couple of lunch portions, which I will be enjoying today after my work out.