New Recipe! Lightened Up Cream of Broccoli and Mushroom Chowder a la Lazarus

Today I had a hankering for Cream of Broccoli Soup, which, as we all know, is where calories go to spend the winter. All of the calories in all of the world. I was also daydreaming about the Amazing Cream of Broccoli and Mushroom Chowder that was made by a now gone piece of Columbus history, Lazarus Department Store. This store had the most incredible food. (Lucy, this one is for you!) However, like most cream soups, a serving of this has about 1000 calories, meaning that I'd get half of a cup on my current diet plan.

Sooo, I used a few lower fat cooking tricks I've picked up along the way to produce a soup that has 490 calories a serving and is rich, creamy, and really, really yummy. So you can have a grilled cheese with your soup and not fate yourself to a heart attack!

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Lightened Up Cream of Broccoli and Mushroom Chowder, a la Lazarus

1 pound fresh chopped broccoli

8 oz mushrooms

4 oz butter

1/2 cup flour

1 quart chicken stock

1 cup 2% milk

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon tarragon

1. Steam broccoli in 1 cup water until tender, about 7 minutes. Put to the side without draining.

2. Melt butter, then slowly add flour to make a roux. Cook the roux 2 - 4 minutes.

3. Add chicken stock slowly with a whisk. Bring to a boil for a few minutes to start to thicken chowder.

4. Lower heat and add the rest of the ingredients, including the undrained broccoli. You may bring the chowder to a slow simmer to further thicken the chowder if desired.

5. Get out a spoon and enjoy!

8 servings, approx. 490 calories each.

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The trick is to cut the roux in half (the original recipe called for 8 oz of butter and 1 cup flour) and to use less half and half by replacing it with milk and sour cream. Because you are using sour cream, it will thicken the chowder, thus decreasing the amount of roux you need. If you want to further decrease calories, you can use skim milk and fat free sour cream, but this will take away some of the richness of the dish.