Seafood Chowder

I originally found this recipe over a year ago on cooks.com. I've made some substitutions from the original recipe as noted in italics, and there are endless other changes that could be made. You can make it as healthy or as hearty as you like to depending on the ingredients you use.

INGREDIENTS
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 tablespoon butter or margarine
-2 cups milk works with skim as well as whole
-1 cup Ranch salad dressing I used Hidden Valley because a)we had an enormous bottle of it and b) because it has more of a buttermilk flavor and spicy taste than the others.
-1 pound skinless, boneless trout fillets I've used cod and pollock
-1 can of clams drained
-1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli cuts, thawed I've always used fresh, if you use frozen I probably wouldn't put it in at the very beginning
-1 cup cubed or shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-1 cup cubed or shredded Cheddar cheese I used sharp cheddar and didn't use the monterey jack b/c we didn't have any, the first time I made this I used a better quality sharp cheddar and it made the soup grainy (as well as collected the fatty grease at the top of it...eww), this time I used Kraft and it wasn't grainy or greasy.
-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
-Paprika also didn't use this

DIRECTIONS
In a skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Transfer to slow cooker; add milk, dressing, fish, clams, broccoli, cheese, and garlic powder.
Cover and cook on high for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until soup is bubbly and fish flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. What's important with the milk and ranch dressing is that you use a 2:1 ratio (or close to it), not so much that the measurements are exact, so you can make it as soupy or as thick as you want.

Finished Product: