Crock Pot Ham & Cauliflower Chowder

Submitted by Caroline Cooks

"Crock pot E-Z; creamy, chunky fully-bodied chowder using cubed leftover ham and Half and Half(substitute, if you choose) to tempt your taste buds. Even better next day or can be frozen in muffins cups zipped tightly into large plastic bag for individual use later. Base recipe from internet with my upgrades. I'm trying it over rice as an encore; whaddya think?"

 

• Ready In: 6hrs 45mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 6 medium fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of celery soup
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 -3 cups cooked ham, cubed
• 3 tablespoons potato flakes
• 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
• Tabasco sauce (optional)

directions

1. Steam trimmed whole head of cauliflower with stalk down for about 6 minutes.
2. Remove and cool to handle.
3. Break off florets and finely dice stalk.
4. In cast iron skillet, sauté onion and celery in butter or oil over Medium-High heat until softened.
5. Add diced ham and saute 1 minutes.
6. Place all ingredients EXCEPT Half and Half and cheddar cheese in crock pot.
7. Stir to blend.
8. Cook on LOW for 6 hours; extract 2 cups of chowder and add 3 tablespoons potato flakes and puree in blender until smooth; return to crock pot.
9. Add Half and Half; and cook 30 mins.to 1 hour.
10. Sprinkle individual servings with cheddar cheese, if desired.

Reviews

[DianaEatingRichly]

This was incredible! The hot sauce (I used tapatio) really makes the flavor. Only issue is the 3 TBS potato flakes weren't in the ingredients list.

 

[nora3972]

I haven't tried this so can't rate it.. Sure it's great! It made me remember decades ago- a cream of cauliflower soup served in an upscale local establishment.. I could never put my finger on what made it different . Finally found someone to tell me it had a bit of blue cheese in it...I think I will use this recipe and give the combination a try- Nora

 

[Cats Eye]

Very nice chowder! I cooked it on the stove instead of the crock pot. I used both the cheese and the tabasco and thought it still needed more flavor so I also added some cayenne. And that did the trick. I use an 8oz. package of sliced mushrooms that I chopped a little and I could have used more. I didn't run this through a blender as we like to have some texture. I might try not cooking this quite as long next time..there is a fine line of being done and being over done with cauliflower. There is not a lot to this soup so next time I will serve it with panini. All in all a great soup!

 

[mcdjcd]

Awesome recipe! The only thing I did differently was I added a tsp of liquid smoke for some extra flavor. I didn't have any leftover ham so used a ham steak, I think thats where I might have lost some of the flavor. Great fall/winter recipe!

 

[klcardwell]

Too many dishes for a crockpot recipe...