Seafood Chowder

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 3 tablespoons flour or baking mix (I use buttermilk baking mix)
• 3 1/2 cups milk (or more if you like a thinner soup More milk can be added as needed after soup is completed.)
• 2 cans condensed cream of potato soup (undiluted)
• 1 1/2 lbs shrimp or scallops or clams or crab (whatever you want your soup to be I like to use shrimp, scallops and whole baby clams. I've even use)
• chopped fresh parsley (to garnish)

Directions

1. 1

   Melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat.

2. 2

   Saute' celery and onion until tender.

3. 3

   Add cayenne pepper, thyme, marjoram and flour or baking mix and stir until smooth.

4. 4

   Add milk and condensed soup and stir until piping hot.

5. 5

   Meanwhile clean and chop seafood as you like.

6. 6

   I usually halve the shrimp and then cut one half in half and leave the other half whole.

7. 7

   If using extra large scallops I usually quarter them.

8. 8

   When soup is piping hot add seafood and stir on medium heat until seafood is cooked through.

9. 9

   Serve in bowls topped with some fresh parsley along with some crusty bread or oyster crackers and a nice salad.