Cream Corn Potato Soup...low cal!

One word: easy and delicious. Okay, that was two.  This soup was easy for a couple reasons.  I actually took my moms advice and had all the ingredients ready before hand so I just had to throw 'em all in the pan. Why didn't I do this before? I chopped the onion and potato and measured out the rest of the ingredients, too. I have a ton of this soup left over, but I figure it will get better with time seeing as it has a ton of spices that will soak into the potatoes and such.  Here is the printable version.  It is also called corn chowder.  


1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced- I added yellow and orange for color.  I would add more spice, possibly
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 bay leaf
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 potato, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 12-ounce can nonfat evaporated milk
Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
You can add some 


 Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan over low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add celery, bell pepper, garlic and cumin; cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add corn and potatoes, return to a simmer and cook until all the vegetables are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Place cornstarch in a small bowl, slowly add evaporated milk, stirring until smooth. Stir into the soup and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Let's be honest. I didn't follow any of the directions for boiling, covering, etc. I like spice, so I added cayenne and pepper to the end soup.  It will be really good, though, for cold nights to come! If you are a fan of the corn cream soup at Chili's (I FREAKING LOVE THAT SOUP), it  has more calories but I do hope to make it soon and post!