Crab Corn Chowder

I'm so proud of myself! Sometime last month (I think) we had dinner at the Canal Street Pub where they have the most awesome Crab Corn Chowder on the planet. I found a recipe for Corn Chowder and I played with it a little. I think I managed to make something very similar to what they served at the Canal Street Pub. Even if it's not exactly the same, it was very good and my family liked it! Now I need to play around and see if I can still get a good flavor out of a less fattening version.

Here's the recipe:

¼ cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 can (14-3/4 ounces) cream-style corn*
2 cups milk
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 can (6 ounces) crab meat**
Cajun seasoning to taste***

In a large saucepan, sauté the green pepper, onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in the soup, corn, milk, cream cheese and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until the cream cheese is melted. Serves 4 – 6. Prep. 30 minutes or less.

* I also added about ¼ cup frozen corn because we like corn.
** I used canned crab meat because I didn't want to spend $15 on crab and have the soup end up tasting terrible.
*** I think next time I will also add a little Cayenne Red Pepper. It was spicy enough for the kids but I would have liked a little more bite to mine.