Crafty chowder

It’s still leftover-mania around these parts.

I brought home so many mashed potatoes I hardly knew what to do with them all.  There’s only so many mashed potatoes a girl can eat!

And since I’m anti-waste (and all about re-purposing things into something different and new), I decided to attempt a potato based soup. 

I banked on the crock-pot to help me out.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the slow cooker makes things idiot proof.  Ingredients just plain taste better after swimming for hours together in a pot.  It’s fact. 

So even though I wasn’t sure if the texture would work out…or if mashed potatoes could be manipulated into a soup…or if it would even resemble chowder, I figured (at the very least) it would have some good flavors going on.

Here it is before the crock pot started it’s magic.

 

And here’s the creamy delicious creation that transpired! 

It was surprisingly awesome (so much so that Kyle requested it for dinner after having it for lunch that same day). 

It reminded me of this potato and corn chowder my mom used to make on quickie dinner nights (the base was from a powder).  Mom, do you know which mix I’m referring to?? 

Thick.  Creamy.  Hearty.  And made from scraps!

 

I’m going to tell you what I put in it, not because I think anyone will EVER be in a position to recreate it, but because I’m still so astonished that it turned out so well.  And if you do happen to have 4 cups of mashed potatoes still hanging around from the holidays, here’s how you can get crafty! 

Potato & Corn Chowder [vegan, gluten free]

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (approximate) of mashed potatoes (they were made with red potatoes, almond milk and Earth Balance)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup plain almond milk
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• corn flour (as needed to thicken)

Directions:

Add everything to a slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours.

I ended up adding about 1 tbsp of corn flour but it was way thick and probably didn’t need it.

The coolest part is that the potatoes were already mashed so the soup was ready to go from the second the veggies cooked through.

If you do want to make this from non mashed potatoes, I’m guessing it will work just as well with ~6-8 russet potatoes and ~10-12 red potatoes.  Once they’ve cooked for the 5 hours, use an immersion blender to puree.  The only difference is that it will (obviously) puree the other veggies as well.  Just leave it chunky and I’m sure it’ll still taste great. 

 

I still find it odd that this came from Thanksgiving leftovers!  Just me?