corn and potato chowder

I figured since I was making something special for hubs I may as well have something special myself. Since I knew I would have an abundance of potatoes (from making the "mash" in bangers in mash) I decided to steer my search to a potato dish...I came up with Corn and Potato Chowder...here you go:

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups prechopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onions, divided (about 1 bunch)
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 pound baking potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add bell pepper and 3/4 cup green onions, and sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned.

Increase heat to high; add corn, water, seafood seasoning, thyme, red pepper, and potatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, and stir in half-and-half, chopped parsley, and salt. Place about 1 1/2 cups soup in each of 4 bowls; sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese and 1 tablespoon green onions.

The only alteration I would make is this: when you add the ingredients to the bell pepper and onion mix, you might as well add the half and half and the parsley. I would cook it a little longer just to make sure the potatoes cook well. (I had trouble with them not cooking that quickly, so I timed it a little longer) This is also a "good for you" dish--only 340 calories per serving. I chose to use fat free half and half, which I'm sure lowered the calories even more. I had broccoli on the side, mmm mmm so good!

Much thanks to cookinglight.com :)