Green Chili Chicken Corn Chowder

This sounds yummy and I suppose it's never too soon to prepare for the gazillion cold weather months we have here in Chicago. Not that I only eat soup in the cold weather months.

This recipe is not WW friendly and quite honestly, I think you need the heavy cream to give a chowder its chowderiness. Is that even a word? I have learned when you are making rich foods, that you cannot skimp and use fat free or low fat ingredients, it kills the dish. You'll never get a rich velvety cheese sauce in your mac and cheese using skim milk and low fat cheese and your chowder will be too watery without the heavy cream. So eat the chowder and I'll loan you the beagle for a walk to work it off. It will be worth it, I promise!

1-2lbs cooked cubed chicken breasts
3/4 C. coarsely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 C. chicken broth
1-1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 C. heavy cream or half and half
2 C. shredded Monterrey Jack/Colby cheese mixture
2 16oz. cans cream style corn
2 4oz. cans chopped green chilies
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
fresh cilantro or parsley, optional

Brown onion and garlic in butter. Add chicken, broth and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Add cream, cheese, corn, chilies, and hot sauce. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. Stir in tomatoes. Serve immediately; garnish with cilantro and parsley, if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.