Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup... AMAZINGLY GOOD!

Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup

My son saw me looking at the index of soup recipes on a blog called http://www.mybizzykitchen.com/.  My son, a rather picky eater, remarked... "Hey, those actually look really good!" and then he asked that I make Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup for him sometime.   For the original recipe LINK, click HERE.  To see the list of all the recipes on this great blog, click HERE.  I am always encouraging my picky eater to try new foods and be adventurous... he's been warming up to the idea of soups such as Loaded Baked Potato Soup and Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup, so I was more than willing to oblige.

Believe it or not... I made very, VERY few changes when I made this soup.  I'll note my changes in parenthesis.

Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup from www.mybizzykitchen.com

■3 tablespoons butter
■1 onion, chopped fine
■1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine (I added 1 stalk of celery as well, finely chopped)
■2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3 or 4 cloves)
■1/3 cup all-purpose flour
■1 3/4 chicken broth (one 14 ounce can chicken broth, reduced sodium, no msg)
■1 12 ounce can lite beer (I used a can of Coors Light)
■2 cups 1% milk
■3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used 16 ounces, which is equal to 4 cups)
■1 cup shredded American cheese (I used an 8 ounce block of Velveeta cheese)
■2 teaspoons cornstarch (I used slightly more than 4 teaspoons)
■salt and pepper to taste (I added at least 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and several grinds of fresh pepper)
■Italian seasoning (I added 3/4 to 1 teaspoon)

1.  Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Cook until onion, carrots, and celery are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth, beer and milk. Bring mixture to a simmer then reduce heat to low and simmer gently (don’t boil!) until carrots are soft about 25 minutes.

2  Meanwhile, toss the shredded cheeses and cornstarch in a large bowl until well combined. Puree soup in blender until smooth. (Use extreme caution when blending soups in the blender.  I blended my soup in two batches... one half at a time.  The lid of the blender tends to want to pop off when blending hot liquids, which could cause you to get burned.  I removed the little, clear-plastic removable lid from the big, black blender lid and covered the opening with a folded, clean kitchen towel while blending... just be careful.  This reminds me, I really want to get an immersion blender which you can use to blend soups right in the pot.  Remove pot from heat, return blended soup to the pot, and whisk in cheese mixture, a handful at a time until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and Italian seasoning. (I had to put the pot back on low heat, stirring nearly constantly, to bring it back up to a nice serving temperature).

I served the soup with store-bought cheese and herb croutons and cooked, crumbled turkey bacon.  Both were very good in the soup.

When I was just about done making the soup, I asked my husband to come into the kitchen to give it a try to see what it needed. I had not yet added much salt and pepper and I was hesitant to add the Italian seasoning.  He said he did not want to try it since he doesn't like THAT kind of soup.  Despite his reservations, he agreed to try it; we added a little salt and pepper and Italian Seasoning. 

I had made the soup for my son; my husband and I were having home-made pizza. My husband was helping me set the table and announces he'd like some soup with his pizza.  My son took a bite of his soup and announced, "There will be no leftovers... this is SO GOOD!"   He did have seconds but he decided it was so rich, he could eat no more.  His eyes were bigger than his stomach.  We all loved the soup!

We've been talking about the soup on and off for two days now.  There is one small bowl remaining in the refrigerator.  My son said he'll be wanting this soup for his birthday.  I said I know of a family who has a Christmas Eve tradition where they eat Wisconsin Beer Cheese soup with popped popcorn in it in place of croutons.  We've officially decided to make this our Christmas Eve tradition too, although the verdict is still out on the popcorn in the soup.

Sounds like just about anytime is a good time for this soup! 

Aftermath of my Thursday cooking frenzy... I am normally a really tidy cook but I was hurrying to make the soup and the pizza side by side. The kitchen was a disaster!  Yikes!!!

• The Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soups was one in a trio of soups I made this weekend. 
• I also made Spicy Meatball Soup with Potato for my husband. Click HERE for recipe.
•  I attempted to make a soup called "Mamma Leone's Chicken Soup". Click HERE for recipe.  I should have followed the recipe more closely.  I attempted to adapt the recipe for the slow cooker and added the spinach and condensed milk at the end. It separated and the soup is not very appealing looking, but the flavors are amazing.  This one is worth of a re-do someday...