No Fear Beer Cheese Soup

Lee's a Ram's fan, and I'm a Packers fan.  So obviously, we're cheering for the commercials during this year's Super Bowl.  Still, this time of year, I think it's ok to pull out our favorite football soup of all time, especially when we're going to stay below freezing the entire week!  Beer Cheese Soup, or what I like to call, Wisconsin in a Bowl is just the ticket.  Our original one is delicious, and you can find the recipe here.  

But as our regular readers know, we're trying to clean up Lee's cooking and Margy's eating.  That brought us to our next step in slimming up our Super Bowl!  

Lee whipped up No Fear Beer Cheese Soup. Now, I'm a sucker for a good beer cheese soup and this one was no joke! It's a little thinner than your traditional beer cheese soup, and I thought that was actually a good thing.  In the original soup, the carrots got lost, you kind of wondered if they were there or if Lee used them just to make the ingredient picture look better.  In this soup, they're front and center, giving a delightful burst of flavor.

If you're ready to make it, here's what you need:

3 Carrots (peeled and diced)

1 White Onion (diced)

3 Cloves of Garlic (minced)

1 Shallot (diced)

2 Jalapenos (deseeded, diced)

2 bunches of Green Onions (sliced)

1 Stick of Butter

1 can of Beer (we live in St. Louis, so a Bud product was a must... sorry Milwaukee!) 

1 Tablespoon Dry Mustard

2 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

4 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock (We made our own and used no salt)

4 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese (shredded)

2 Cups Gruyere Cheese (shredded)

3 Cups Half and Half 

2 Cups Flour

To make things easier, prep all your vegetables ahead of time.

In a large heavy stock pot, melt the butter on medium heat and place all vegetables into pot sautéing for about 10 minutes until soft.

Sprinkle flour into vegetables and stir until combined. Cook for another 10 minutes stirring often to not burn the flour.

Pour in chicken stock, beer, dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce stirring with a whisk until combined.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring often. Next whisk in the cheese and stir till melted and smooth.  Mix in Half and Half and simmer for another 10 minutes or until desired thickness. 

Garnish with sliced green onions and serve with a side of bread. We used our Homemade Pretzel Sticks.

No Fear Beer Cheese Soup Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving

Calories 346 Calories from Fat 181

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 20.1g 31%

Saturated Fat 12.3g 62%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 61mg 20%

Sodium 299mg 12%

Total Carbohydrates 16.3g 5%

Dietary Fiber 1.1g 4%

Sugars 1.5g

Protein 12.6g

Vitamin A 16% • Vitamin C 6% Calcium 32% • Iron 7% Original Beer Cheese Soup Nutrition Facts Amount Per Serving Calories 430 Calories from Fat 312 % Daily Value* Total Fat 34.6g 53% Saturated Fat 17.1g 86% Trans Fat 0.0g Cholesterol 93mg 31% Sodium 2150mg 90% Total Carbohydrates 7.6g 3% Dietary Fiber 1.1g 4% Sugars 1.4g Protein 21.4g Vitamin A 17% • Vitamin C 7% Calcium 27% • Iron 8%

To compare, the better for you soup makes about twice as much as the original.  The serving size for both is two cups.  We cut out one third of the calories, 15 grams of fat and at least 1851 mg of sodium.  The best part is that while the original will bog you down and keep you stuck to the couch for a few hours. You'll feel like you'll be able to actually do something after eating No Fear Beer Cheese Soup.