Cowboy Chowder

(I know the picture is a little too "froo froo" for cowboys, but it was the only clean bowl in the house!)

Prep: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 quarts

2 cups diced potatoes
2 cups water
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, cut up
1 lb ground beef
3 finely chopped scallions
1 can cream style corn
1 can cheddar cheese soup
2 cups milk
pepper to taste

Brown, drain, & rinse ground beef. While beef is browning, put potatoes, carrots, & water in a stock pot & bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until potatoes & carrots are soft. Add celery, scallions & ground beef followed by cream style corn, soup, milk & pepper. Cook until thoroughly heated, but do not boil.

Tips and Tricks:
This is a "in a pinch" meal that I make when I'm not sure what to make. The original recipe called for diced ham, which is good, but my family prefers the ground beef. I also don't keep cheese soup in my kitchen, I use a can of cream of chicken soup & 1 cup of grated cheddar instead. You could also use a cup of white sauce in place of the soup, and add cheese. This meal cooks up surprisingly fast, but for even faster dinner, use frozen diced potatoes. I've made many different variations of this chowder using different kinds of canned soups and vegetables as a base. One that my kids (surprisingly) liked was using mushroom soup, potatoes, celery, mushrooms and fresh garlic.

Make it Healthier:
Use skim milk and use a lower fat cheese such as part skim mozzarella and a low fat soup in place of the cheese soup. Use extra lean ground beef.

How Kids Can Help:
My kids like to help put the potatoes & carrots into the stock pot and stir the soup.