Southwestern Corn Soup

Southwestern Corn Soup (5-6 servings, total time 25-30 minutes)

(adapted from KraftFoods)

This was a tasty soup, but I made it a tad too spicy.  My husband took a bite, said it was good but the slow heat blew him off his feet.  Guess I’ll be eating all of the leftovers! 

Ingredients

1 small green pepper, chopped

4 oz. 1/3 Fat Cream Cheese, cubed

½ lb. (8 oz.) Velveeta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 can (14.75 oz.) cream-style corn

1-1/2 cups skim milk

½ can adobo peppers with sauce

2 Morningstar Farms Black Bean burgers, thawed, crumbled

1.)    Cook peppers in a non-stick medium saucepan on medium heat 3 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender.

2.)    Add cream cheese; cook on low heat 3 to 5 min. until melted, stirring frequently.

3.)    Stir in Velveeta, corn, milk, adobo peppers, and Black Bean Burger crumbles; cook 5 min. or until  Velveeta is completely melted and soup is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Although I though this dish was good and spicy (great for a cold day), next time I will use a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (drained) instead of the adobo peppers.  I want it to be more pleasing for my husband to taste.  The green peppers lose most of their crispness when cooked with the remaining ingredients, but that did not detract from the dish at all.  Using lower fat substitutions helps reduce the calories and overall fat in the dish.  Adding the burgers increases protein, an important step for vegetarians!  The soup is really easy to make and the texture is very creamy, especially if you let it cool for a moment before eating (allowing the Velveeta to congeal slightly).  I definitely plan on making this delicious dish again in the near future.  I’ll let you know how it works out with the adobo pepper substitution.