shrimp chowder

I just love soup, and any variation of soup... chowder, stew, chili, etc.  I try to make something in this category once a week to take a break from the meat/vegetable entree routine.  Its particularly nice when it works out to be a cold rainy night, like tonight.

This recipe falls under the category of "semi-homemade" since your base is store bought cream of potato and mushroom soup.   Easy, hearty, quick and delicious on a chilly night. Serve with crusty bread.  You can change it up and use any combination of frozen seafood. We've used a seafood mix of mussels, shrimp and squid.   You could use this as a base for clam chowder by just adding clams too.


Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
2 pounds frozen shrimp (cooked*, peeled and deveined), cut in half or three pieces depending on how large
2 cans condensed cream of potato soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups milk (1% or 2%, not skim)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more to taste)

*if you don't want to buy precooked shrimp for this, I highly recommend cooking the shrimp before putting it into the chowder... you want to make sure it gets cooked all the way through before it goes in the pot.

Directions
Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Combine potato soup, mushroom soup, corn, and cream cheese. Mix well, and bring to a slow boil. Stir in half-and-half, milk, green onions, and shrimp. Season with cayenne pepper. Bring to a low boil, and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors.
 
For those who like a spicy zing, add hot sauce as desired at the table!