Eat Happy: Beer & Cheese Soup
Jan 21st, 2008 by kitliz
This was the experimental recipe of the week. I came across a slow-cooker Beer & Cheese Soup recipe in a magazine and decided to make it my own. I love to look at recipes, but I’m not so good at actually following them. Which is why my cooking used to be very hit or miss…
Here’s my version of Beer & Cheese Soup
What I used:
-
Potatoes (2 big ones)
-
Carrots
-
Celery
-
An Onion
-
Garlic
-
Spices (Salt, pepper, ginger, and a bay leaf.)
-
Chicken Stock
-
BUDWEISER!
-
Shredded Cheese
-
Whipping Cream
And, if you want to make your own croutons:
-
Pumpernickel Bread
-
Butter
-
Garlic Salt
-
Parmesan Cheese
What I did:
Step 1: Chop some stuff.
I started with this, and judged as I was chopping how much of each thing I wanted in the pot:
I ended up with 2 potatoes, about a cup of carrots, about half a cup of celery, half an onion, and two cloves of garlic. Roughly. It was all thrown in the crock pot around 1:00 this afternoon, along with some salt & pepper, a pinch of ginger, and a bay leaf.
Step 2: Get your veggies drunk.
In the slow cooker also went a can of chicken broth, and a can of “real” beer. I was prepared to use a bottle of Bud Light when MysteryMan said, what are you putting in there…water? Bud Light is chick beer as far as he’s concerned.
Step 3: Cook 5-8 hours
Sometimes I forget how much I love the crock-pot. I put it on low and forgot about it for 5 hours. After the fifth hour I turned it up to “high” for the next 45 minutes or so while I made the croutons so that the veggies would soften up a little more, but the beauty of a slow-cooker is that you could just leave it on low for 3 more hours and it would have been fine.
Step 4: Make some croutons (if you’re so inclined).
This was super easy. MysteryMan cut up the bread
I mixed it in a bowl with a half a stick of melted butter, some garlic salt, and some Parmesan cheese…
Then spread it on a baking sheet at cooked for 10-15 minutes at 350-degrees.
Step 5: Cheese it!
Back at the Crock-Pot mash all the veggies a little with a potato masher or a fork so that it’s just medium on the chunky scale. Then add 3 cups of your favorite cheeses (or whatever you have leftover in your fridge, like I did) and half a cup of heavy whipping cream to the soup.
Stir until it’s all melty and delicious.
You may want to add a tablespoon of flour to thicken. I did, but MysteryMan likes thicker soups and I live to serve him. Okay. Not really. But I think cheese soup should be thicker rather than thinner.
Sprinkle with croutons and serve!
(Also goes really well with Ritz Crackers we discovered, in case you don’t want to make croutons.)
All I have to say is this is way better than any potato cheddar soup I’ve ever had, and it is definitely the beer flavor that makes it work. It’s a perfect football food.
Recycling Cabinet
DIY Wine Rack
YUMMY! It would be fun to experiment with different beers, too! They sell beers individually at my local liquor store, so I won’t have to buy a whole pack to try it out.
Wheat beer reigns around here… but I’m thinking something else would work better than a wheat beer. (Like the Bud you used).
Delish! I’m not a super great cook, but this soup made me feel like a culinary genius!
I’ve tried fuller-bodied beers like Fat Tire or a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Gave the flavor a little kick. 
And I agree with thickening the soup…a couple times I’ve forgotten and poured a whole bottle of beer instead of just a cup. whoops.
Step 2 made me laugh.
Saving this one for later!
I made this soup and the croutons and it was so good. I softened a half of a box of cream cheese and whisked it with some half and half, and added that to the veggies in beer and broth after they were done. Then added the cheese and stirred till combined. I also added a tsp or two of Worchestershire sauce, a touch of cayenne pepper and a couple splashes of Tobascco sause. It was Fabulous!!!
Thank you Diy-diva.