Frontier Soups Corn Chowder Mix

In my efforts to cook more but keep the meals easy to make, I have discovered Frontier Soups mixes.  I have a friend that sells these, and they take all the hard work out of cooking a big meal.  Many of the mixes I have tried have been excellent tasting as well.  There are only 1 or 2 that I likely wouldn’t make again.  Each mix is between $7-9 and require another $10 or so in extra ingredients.

Today, I am making the Corn Chowder Mix for the first time.  In addition to the soup mix, this recipe calls for 64oz of chicken broth (2 large containers), 2 cups of heavy cream, 2-3 white potatoes and extra corn (1 can or 2-3 ears of fresh corn).  The only real prep is peeling and dicing the potatoes (and cutting off kernels if using ears of corn).  I did cut myself while dicing the potatoes, but the prep was easier than other mixes I’ve used.

The recipe recommends a 4 quart pot, but I would recommend going a little bigger.  Previous soup mixes I have used have required me to add extra moisture, so I account for that.  First, you add the diced potatoes and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, you add the entire contents of the soup mix and stir well.  You then simmer for about 45 minutes.

Next, you add the extra corn (fresh or canned) and the cream.  Stir the cream in well and heat uncovered on low until the soup starts to thicken, about 30 min.  I found the need to stir it often as the cream had a tendency to bubble and froth.  After about 15 min, I turned the heat off and let the soup start to cool down, again stirring frequently.  It really started to thicken up once it was cooling down a little bit.  You will need to remember to remove the bay leaf.

This corn chowder is very fragrant while cooking, especially after adding the cream.  It is also a very pretty looking soup with red pepper pieces for added color.  It tasted great, and I think you could do lots of different variations on it.  I would consider adding shredded chicken for extra protein next time.  You could also add other fresh veggies, such as zucchini or squash, that I think would pair well with this.  I also plan to make this again when we have fresh sweet corn here in Michigan.  I think the fresh corn would be amazing!