The Kitchen Door

The more I begin to flex my culinary muscle the longer my snooty nose seems to grow and the further I look down it onto the dishes that I once enjoyed.  “Dump Cake?  Oh please” I harrumph.  “Cream of Mushroom Soup?!  NEVER!” I gasp.  “Velveeta Cheese, you say?  What is this Velveeta Cheese of which you speak?”

I remember a scene from the movie Julia and Julie in which Julia Child was collaborating on her cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and they were looking at another cookbook sent to them from the publisher.  “Marshmallow Fluff?” protested one of the culinary queens “What is marshmallow fluff?”

Now, just between you and me… I like some of the things that may just get me drummed out of foodie circles… but dadgum it… they just plain taste good.  I love Velveeta; I even use the stuff in one of my favorite recipes “Creamy Cheesy Chicken Cacciatore”.  It’s totally not authentic but man oh man it’s tasty.  I get mauled for the recipe every time I serve it.  And “dump cake” come awwnn…. it tastes good man!

So why am I telling you all of this?  Well because… I think in our efforts to grow in our knowledge and skill levels (a very noble pursuit in which I wholeheartedly encourage you), I think it is important not to forget “where you come from”.

That means that though there is merit to perfecting a silky and unbroken Hollandaise Sauce, it’s also OK to enjoy a spam and cheese sammy every now and then.  I do try to make my cakes from scratch and cut out the processed foods as a rule but sometimes you just gotta have your “processed cheese like food substance”.

With that in mind, I hope you will enjoy my recipe for a hearty, tasty, vegetable chowder that contains not one but two of the ingredients at which the uber snooty food snobs (like me… but I’m reforming) would be tempted to balk.  Cream of Celery Soup AND Cheese Whiz… hahaha, maybe I’m not as snobby as I thought.   Cheese Whiz in soup sounds pretty red neck… but I don’t care cuz it tastes good. 

Come on over to the dark side and try this… I bet you’ll like it.  Shucks, even Julia would like it.

Ham and Cheese Vegetable Chowder

Serves 4 This is only 260 calories per serving. Not too shabby for a creamy, cheesy, ham and potato soup.

The Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup peeled, diced potato (I use 1 large potato; it’s a bit more than 1 cup)
• 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
• 1 cup frozen, chopped broccoli (could also sub frozen peas here)
• 1 cup cubed ham
• 1 (10 ¾ oz.) can cream of celery soup
• ½ of an 8oz. jar of Cheese Whiz

 

The Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the water, carrots, potato and onion.  Bring to boil and then reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add broccoli (or peas) and ham.  Return to boil; reduce heat once again.  Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes more.  Stir in the soup and the cheese whiz.  Cook and stir until heated.

By: The Kitchen Door

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