Zupas Garden Chowder aka Christmas Chowder

INGREDIENTS

medium zucchinis, diced into very small thin bite sized pieces

yellow onion, very thinly diced into small bite sized pieces

2 tbsp

parsley, diced

1 tsp

dried basil (use dried basil here, you don't want to overwhelm the chowder with fresh basil. You want a very subtle basil flavor here).

1/3 cup

butter

1/3 cup

unbleached all purpose flour

1 tsp

salt

1/4 tsp

pepper

3 cups

vegetable or chicken broth

1 tsp

lemon juice

tomatoes, diced into very small bites sized pieces or 1 14oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 12 ounce can

evaporated milk (can use whole milk as a substitute, can substitute fat free evaporated milk)

1 14 ounce can

corn, or 1 cup fresh corn,

1/3 cup

grated parmesan cheese

2 cups

cooked diced chicken or turkey (optional)

2 cups

grated cheddar cheese (can substitute reduced fat)