Seafood Chowder

This weekend I bought a Clean Eating cookbook and after browsing through the pages, I knew exactly what my first dish from the cookbook was going to be: Seafood Chowder. It was a bitterly cold day on Saturday (15* and wind) and although the sun was out and shining, I knew I wanted to make a warm, hot and hearty meal to warm Greg and me up!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

1 white onion, chopped (about 11/2 cups)

2 large carrots, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

2 stalks of celery, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon of paprika

3/4 teaspoon of dried thyme

1 pound of potatoes, chopped (about 21/2 cups)

3 cups of frozen corn kernels

1 cup of low-fat milk

3/4 pounds of sea scallops

1/2 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 green onion stalks, thinly sliced

Directions:
1) Heat up your olive oil in a large pan.

2.) Dice up the carrots.

3.) Dice up the celery and onions.

4.) Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the pot with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook until soft, for about 8 minutes.

5.) Add the 1 teaspoon of paprika.

6.) Add the 3/4 teaspoon of thyme.

7.) Add 3 cups of water, increase heat and bring to a boil.

8.) Dice up the potatoes.

9.) Add the potatoes to the pot and reduce to a simmer until just tender, for about 7-8 minutes.

10.) Add the 3 cups of corn. To cut back on the sugar and carbs, I only used about 11/2 cups of corn.

11.) Add the milk. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat.

12.) While the chowder is cooking, cut off the shrimp tails and dice up the shrimp into bite size pieces.

13.) Saute the scallops in a pan of melted butter.

14.) Add the shrimp and season with Old Bay seafood seasoning. Continue to saute the seafood for about 15-20 minutes until they are opaque in the center.

15.) Back to the chowder-- Take 3 cups of the chowder mixture and put into a blender. Puree the soup.

16.) Pour the puree back into the large pot and combine with the rest of the soup.

18.) Combine the shrimp and scallops with the chowder.

19.) Garnish with the green onions, some more salt and pepper, and enjoy!!

Verdict: Delicious!! Greg and I loved it. And our waistlines loved it too knowing that this recipe contained healthy vegetables and low-fat ingredients unlike other chowders we have made in the past. We'll definitely be making this chowder again-- YUM!

<3 Kelly