PREP: 1 hour 30 minutes PROCESS: 1 hour 15 minutes COOL: 10 minutes MAKES: 5 quarts
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
2 poblano chile peppers, seeded and chopped (tip, page 107)
2 tsp. ground ancho chile peppers or mild chili powder
12 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
5 cups fresh corn kernels
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Instant mashed potato flakes
American cheese slices
1. In a 6- to 8-qt. pot heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and chiles; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in ancho powder; cook and stir 1 minute.
2. Add the next four ingredients (through black pepper). Bring to boiling.
3. Fill five hot sterilized quart canning jars halfway with chicken and vegetables. Add broth, leaving a 1-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
4. Process filled jars in a pressure canner, at 10 lb. pressure for a weighted-gauge canner or 11 lb. pressure for dial-gauge canner, 75 minutes, adjusting for altitude (start timing when canner reaches 10 or 11 lb. pressure). Allow the pressure to come down naturally. Carefully remove canner lid; cool jars in canner 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. Check lids for seal. (Canning tips, pages 461–466.)
5. To serve, place contents of jar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil. Boil, covered, 10 minutes (add 1 minute for each 1,000 feet of elevation). Remove saucepan from heat. To thicken, add ½ cup instant mashed potato flakes and two ¾-oz. slices American cheese, torn, to soup, stirring until cheese melts.
PER 1⅓ CUPS SOUP: 239 cal., 10 g fat (4 g sat. fat), 47 mg chol., 735 mg sodium, 21 g carb., 2 g fiber, 19 g pro.