Hearty Salmon Chowder

Angelady's Note:

I combined several good quality salmon chowder recipes to put the best parts of all of them together. It turned out incredible, so I thought I'd share it here. The best part is that this is SO very easy. I hope your family enjoys it as much as ours does.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 6 cups potatoes , cubed small
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 (14 ½ ounce) cans fat-free chicken broth
• 1 (14 ¾ ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 ½ cups celery , chopped
• ½ cup onion , chopped
• 2 (16 ounce) bags of frozen mediterranean blend mixed vegetables (includes carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, italian green beans & red peppers)
• 4 ounces cream cheese (half of an 8 oz. package)
• 4 (6 ounce) cans bumble bee prime filet gourmet salmon , boneless, skinless (including liquid)
• sea salt
• garlic
• crushed red pepper flakes , if desired
• black pepper , if desired

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients, except salmon, in a large dutch oven or stock pot on medium-high until it comes to a slow boil and then reduce heat to medium. (You could also easily put everything in a crock-pot as another option.).
2. When potatoes are cooked through, turn heat off and add gently flaked salmon to the pot and stir together. Then, cover the pot with a lid until you're ready to serve!
3. -----The secret ingredient that makes this chowder shine is definitely the cream cheese. I've made it without it and it's awesome, but with it, it really takes the prize! Also, just a side note that I do cut larger pieces of the cauliflower and squash into smaller pieces. I also cut the italian green beans in half as well. It's a little more trouble, but it makes it look more appealing to me and more ready to eat even for children.