First Newbie of the Season

This is late, because last week was crazy and I have been gone for most of the weekend.  The soups that I have made so far are ones that I have made in the past (the chili was a new recipe, but nothing all that different from chili I have made in the past).  Last week I wanted to make something that wasn't tomato-based.  I love tomatoes, but I wanted something different.  As I sat down to make my grocery list on Monday afternoon, I realized that the only night I would really have time to make soup was that night, so I needed to find a soup that I could make pretty quickly too.  I flipped thru my favorite soup magazine and found one that sounded yummy, so I decided to give it a try.  I think it turned out pretty good and it was pretty easy.

Corn Chowder with Dumplings (adapted from recipe found in taste of home soup magazine)

Chowder:
2 large onions (I bought the large package of pre-chopped onions from Wal-Mart cause I was not in the mood to have watery, stinging eyes.)
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups frozen corn
2 cups cubed peeled potatoes (I had cubed hash browns left over from the veggie beef soup that I had made, so I used those to save money and time.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 to 3 tsps minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I left this out because I had no idea where to find it and didn't really want a spicy soup.  I added black pepper instead.)

Dumplings:
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c yellow cornmeal (All I could find was cornmeal mix, so at first I wasn't sure if I needed the flour, but I did end up adding some because the mixture wasn't thick enough.  I'm not sure how much I added, but they worked out.)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1/4 c shredded cheese

In large saucepan, saute onions until tender.  Add broth, corn, potatoes, cream, pepper, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 3-5 minutes.
For dumplings, combine dry ingredients.  Add cheese and milk - mix until moistened.  Drop by tablespoons onto simmering chowder.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes...do not lift cover while simmering.  (The directions say to cook for 20 minutes or until dumplings are cooked which is determined by sticking a toothpick into the dumplings, but they say not take the lid off so there was no way to check them before the 20 minutes was over.  Mine were done after 20 minutes, but I guess if they aren't then you could replace the lid and continue to cook.)

My picture doesn't look as great as the one in the magazine, but the soup was yummy!

I went to visit a friend this weekend and she made a yummy chili whose recipe can be found here... http://love-taylor.com/2013/10/08/chili-for-a-chilly-day/ (There is another version of it here... http://thesimpleveganista.blogspot.ca/2013/03/sweet-potato-quinoa-chili.html)  It's delicious!!