Simple Clam Chowder

As I mentioned in my last post, I made Apple Cheese Beer Bread to go with this chowder.  Since to me, soup is not a meal, I need to serve it with either a sandwich, grilled cheese, or bread.  My parents have a house in Rhode Island.  Unfortunately, we usually just end up visiting over the summer, even though they live there on and off throughout the year.  Part of every visit to "the beach house" includes a lunch of New England Clam Chowder and an order of clam cakes (a.k.a. clam fritters).  Taking my first spoonful of this soup totally brought back memories of our summer lunches.  This soup was easy to put together and was super tasty!  I was kind of surprised with the recipe coming from Cooking Light. In the past I've tried to make other chowder type recipes from the magazine and have found them to be less creamy tasting to keep them "light."  This recipe totally did not feel like I was sacrificing taste for calories.  I posted the original recipe amounts.  However, I ended up halving everything since the recipe below yields approximately 12 servings.  Just a note that even halved, with 3 cans of chopped clams, resulted in this soup having LOTS of clams.  Not that we were complaining, but it might be a little over-whelming for some people!  This will definitely be a go-to recipe whenever I'm feeling a little nostalgic for Rhode Island!

Simple Clam Chowder
recipe from Cooking Light, January 2008

Yield:  12 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients:
2 bacon slices
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
5 cups diced peeled baking potato (about 1 pound)
4 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
1 bay leaf
3 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Manic Monday Party @ Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Tempt My Tummyy Tuesdays @ Blessed with Grace

Clam Sauce with Linguine

I've always loved linguine with clam sauce.  This recipe caught my eye with the use of mushrooms.  Did I mention that I also love mushrooms?!  This was super quick and easy to make and a nice change from the normal pasta with red sauce.  Unfortunately, I find that canned clams, small to begin with, seem to shrink when you cook them. I thought you could hardly taste them, though that's probably why my kids ate all of their dinner up (minus the mushrooms!). 

Clam Sauce with Linguine
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com - by Silvia Granger

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta
1/2 cup butter
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams with juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2.Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and mushrooms until golden brown. Stir in clams with juice, salt and white pepper. Cook over medium heat until hot. Toss with pasta until evenly coated. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up!