Mimi's Kitchen

If you're looking for quick-and-easy school-night meal ideas, have I got a recipe for you! This amazing chowder is not only delicious, it's so easy to make, you can have it on the table in just 10 minutes. All you need to make this a well-balanced meal (see http://www.choosemyplate.gov/) is a veggie side-salad and a 1/2 ham sandwich (choose reduced or low-sodium ham, and whole-grain bread).

My favorite thing about this chowder? It costs less than $1.00 per serving!

10-Minute Corn Chowder
(Serves 4 @ about .71 cents per serving)

1 teaspoon	vegetable or Canola oil
1⁄2	small onion (chopped)
1 teaspoon	garlic (minced)
4 tablespoons	flour (all purpose)
3 cups	nonfat milk
2 teaspoons	prepared yellow mustard
1⁄4 teaspoon	thyme (dried)
	black pepper (to taste)
2 cups	corn kernels (frozen)
4 tablespoons	shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add the oil and saute the onion and garlic until golden, about 2 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place the flour, milk, mustard and seasonings in a small bowl and mix well.

3. Add the milk mixture to the skillet followed by the corn; mix well until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the mixture from burning.

4. Divide into four bowls and top each with 1 Tablespoon of shredded cheese.

Note: If you want to "up" the deliciousness factor even more, try sprinkling some real bacon crumbles over the cheese just before serving. Heaven!

Serving size: 1-1/4 cup