Cheddar Cheese & Jalapeno Soup

I was supposed to make this soup last week to bring in on Friday. But had a terrible night Thursday and didn't get more than an hour of sleep so I stayed home Friday. Whatever was causing me problems was gone by Friday afternoon so I was good to go for the weekend and got this soup made Sunday night. So we've got Soup On Monday!

This is a really great tasting soup. This was one that I could have just kept eating and then licked the bowl clean. I found this recipe on a website called copycat.com. This site specializes in providing recipes of dishes from well known restaurants. I've tried several of them and have had success with all of them. Check them out and let us know what you think. This recipe is formally titled "Gallagher's Cheddar Cheese Soup", I'm not familiar with who the Gallagher is or if it is a restaurant somewhere. I don't recall Googling it when I first found the recipe, if anyone knows anything please comment.

This recipe was very easy to make, so easy I felt guilty not doing more. The surprising thing in this recipe is that it uses cheese spread, the jarred stuff, rather than real cheddar cheese. I may try it with real cheddar the next time I make it but it tastes so good with the cheese spread I question the wisdom of changing but who knows it may be better with real cheddar. Hey maybe Velveeta!

The flavors that really stood out for me were the mustard and cayenne pepper. The mustard was very subtle but added a great zing and the cayenne really added a good bite and had a little delayed impact. 

INGREDIENTS for 8 servings

2 cups of water

1/3 cup each of finely chopped carrots and celery

1 cup of finely chopped green onions

1/2 cup of butter

1/4 cup of flour

1 medium size white onion, chopped

4 cups of milk

4 cups of chicken broth

1 15 oz jar of pasteurized process cheese spread

Add salt and black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon of yellow mustard

1 8 oz can of diced pickled jalapenos

METHOD

1. In a soup pot over high heat combine the water, carrots, green onions and celery. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Set aside but do not drain.
2. In a large stockpot melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion. Saute for 1 minute then add the flour blending well.
3. In a large saucepan bring the milk and broth to a boil.
4. Whisk the milk-broth mixture into the flour-onion mixture in the large stockpot with a wire whisk.
5. Stir in the cheese, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard and the cooked veggies including the water in which they were cooked.
6. Bring to a boil and serve immediately.

This soup was not as thick as I thought it would be so don't be surprised if it comes out that way for you too.