Is It Chowder Yet? The Potluck Continues...

My Weight Watchers Meeting buddy, Carl has arrived and he brought us some soup. But, not just any soup. It is a "Surprise" Chowder. As in, "Surprise! This soup is full of random ingredients that have no business being mixed together!" I should mention that Carl is my go-to-guy for all foodie questions. Every Friday at our WW meeting, he gives me tips on roasting turkeys, grilling fish, and steaming artichokes. But can Carl cook up a Retro Weight Watchers dish that is Mimi-approved? It shouldn't surprise anyone that Carl could even turn this scary 1974 Weight Watchers recipe into a gourmet delight. Soup's on!  

Hi Mimi, Knock Knock, It's Carl and a Surprise Chowder at the door. Let me in - I need a beer to wash this chowder down...

As a longtime Weight Watcher (I go back as far as when the cards were given out at the meetings) I knew I had to be at the Potluck Party, and volunteered right away. Back in the Retro WW days, I was the only young guy at the meetings. Now I am one of a few older guys at the meetings.

Since Mimi knows I am a local fish monger, she gave me something right up my alley. My recipe is Surprise Chowder.  

The recipe was pretty easy although I did make it twice, because I changed one of the ingredients the second time. I thought it would turn out better. It was good both ways so my family got it twice for dinner. 

Guess which one is the "surprise" ingredient?

I used a nice thick cod filet for my fish and just chunked it up after baking it in the oven. I used lagostinos the first time but then I did use a larger shrimp the second time to give it better texture and it was much heartier. Mixing everything together was easy and it was a surprise on how good it tasted . This recipe would even stand up today. 

I would even think of giving it a try as a chowder special of the day at the local fish shop. Look for it, you might even like it!