Are you ready for soup?  I am!  When my friend Maribeth asked if I had seen the chicken and sweet potato corn chowder recipe in the latest copy of Southern Living, I hadn’t.

But when Maribeth gets excited about a recipe I get excited too! She is an accomplished cook and enjoys spending time in the kitchen.  The Chief, my Sous-Chef Dish-washing mom and I have enjoyed many a meal, snack, appetizer and scrumptious treat from Maribeth’s kitchen. 

Once I looked at this recipe I knew this one will be no exception to the long line of recipes I have collected from Maribeth and Southern Living!

We are sweet potato fans and so that is the first ingredient that caught my attention.  Plus, I love to rationalize that if it has sweet potatoes in it – then it must be good for me! These sweet potatoes look to be a little white in the picture but that was just my too-shiny camera shot!

This chowder is as pretty to look at as it is delicious to eat.  It is also easy-peasy because the first 12 ingredients are added to the Crock-Pot first thing. 

I added white potatoes to the original recipe because I like the color and flavor enhancement of a few white potatoes.  Also,  I changed the cooking process for the chicken. 

Southern Living says “our testers recommend using bone-in chicken breasts to yield a more tender and juicy result than boneless.”

The original recipe directs placing the raw bone-in skinless chicken breast in with the rest of the ingredients to cook for the first 4 hours.  I am picky about cooking chicken and I don’t like to put it in with other ingredients that will end up soup.  

Have you ever seen the chicken scum that floats to the top when boiling chicken? Yuck.

You can also tell from the picture of the soup in my Crock-Pot that I always use a Reynolds Slower Cooker Liner.  Actually, I think Reynolds should be sponsoring this post, but sadly they are not!  But – I still want you to know about liners because they make clean up so easy. 

And I always want to make things as easy as possible for my Sous-Chef Dish-Washing mom!  Did I ever tell you that she washes all our dishes? 

I know, but don’t be jealous.  Isn’t that awesome to get to do the cooking and have the dishes and the kitchen magically cleaned up!  Thank you, Mom!

I suggest that you start with leftover chicken, cut up or shredded.  Or cook the chicken ahead of time in chicken broth or my personal favorite suggestion: 

Place chicken breasts in the Crock-Pot with 1 cup salsa.  Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours.  Remove from Crock-Pot, cool slightly and then shred.  This chicken is moist and lightly seasoned.

I served this soup with a super-food Kale salad and it was a total hit!  As is often the case, this soup gets better and better for several days after cooking.

Cooking this soup in the Crock-Pot filled the house with a wonderful fragrance of something lovin’ coming from the kitchen! My Chief Soup Eater added a splash of hot sauce to his serving. 

This gave me the idea to add pepper flakes to the remaining soup.  I added  1 1/2 teaspoons and it was a perfect complement to the creamy soup.  I’ve added it as a “highly suggested” option in the recipe!

If you have other favorite soup-worthy vegetables this is the kind of recipe that can be tweaked to make it your own!  Thank you, Maribeth, and thank you Southern Living for inspiring this recipe!

Happy Cooking!
~ Catherine

Chicken, Potatoes, and Corn Slow-Cooker Chowder

Yield: 10-12

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes

Adapted from a Southern Living recipe, this soup is hearty, filling, and a little bit of a kick with red pepper flakes! Delicious!

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Ingredients

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1 pound white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1 pound (2 chicken breasts) cooked and shredded (or diced) chicken breasts*
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 ears) or canned or frozen (thawed)
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion (from 2 onions)
• 1 1/4 cups chopped red bell pepper (from 1 large bell pepper)
• 1 1/4 cups chopped yellow bell pepper (from 1 large bell pepper)
• 1 cup chopped celery (from 3 stalks)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper flakes* optional
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 to 8 tablespoons cornstarch*
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh or dried flat-leaf parsley
• Hot sauce to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the first 12 ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH about 4 hours, or on LOW for 6 to 8 hours until vegetables are tender.
2. Whisk together cream and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth; slowly stir into soup.
3. Cover and cook until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.
4. Top with hot sauce if desired.

Notes

* Cook the chicken ahead of time in chicken broth or my personal favorite suggestion: Place chicken breasts in the Crock Pot with 1 cup salsa. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove from Crock Pot, cool slightly and then shred. This chicken is moist and lightly seasoned.
*Red pepper flakes optional. They do not make the soup "hot" but add a nice layer of flavor.
* Can use only sweet potatoes if desired, but the addition of the white potato blends well with the other vegetables.
* Cornstarch - 5 tablespoons will thicken slightly. I prefer 8 heaping tablespoons for a medium thickness to the chowder.