Cooking Chowder With White Beans And Potatoes

Chowder Recipe Ingredients

2 medium potatoes
1 can white kidney beans
½ cup green onions or scallions
1 cup carrots
4 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 cups milk, fat free
2 tablespoon fresh basil, snipped
2 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Cooking spray

Method:

1. Coat a medium size unheated nonstick saucepan lightly with a nonstick cooking spray. Preheat it over medium to low heat.
2. Stir in the chopped green onions, minced garlic and dried Italian seasoning in the hot saucepan and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until the onions are tender.
3. Add the potato, carrot and water to the pan. Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the mixture to the boil over medium to high heat. After it boils, reduce heat and cover the pan.
4. Let the mixture simmer on low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are tender. With the help of a potato masher or fork, lightly mash the tender potato and carrot in the saucepan itself.
5. The starch in potato and carrot will help to make the water or the mixture thick. Do not drain the vegetable mixture.
6. Combine the fat free milk and the all purpose flour in a screw top jar. Screw on the cover and shake well to mix. Add the milk and flour mixture in the potato mixture and cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally.
7. Add snipped basil or other herbs (if using) and white kidney beans. Cook for a minute more (stirring constantly) or until the beans are heated through. Sprinkle nutmeg over individual servings. Serve. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Health Tip:

• Potato and white bean chowder recipe is a vegetarian recipe that provides 236 calories, 46 gm carbohydrates, 1 gm total fat, and 14 gm proteins per serving.
• This recipe can be considered a high sodium recipe as it provides 380 mg sodium per serving. To reduce the sodium values use reduced sodium canned beans and also avoid seasoning the recipe with salt.
• Regular canned beans are generally loaded with sodium. You can prepare white kidney beans at home – soak beans in hot water for about 7 to 8 hours (or overnight for convenience), boil for 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat and use these beans in this recipe.
• This recipe can be considered a good source of fiber as it provides 7 gm fiber per serving.