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

Lighter Jambalaya

It's the new year and time to get back on track. Lee whipped up a little comfort food to warm our bones as the Polar Vortex was on it's way out.  

Part of this year’s  blog is going to be focused on healthier foods and our spin on making dishes healthier.  

We're cutting back on our sodium, so premade jambalaya seasoning was out for sure. Lee used a variety of the seasonings we had on hand to make it delicious!  It still has quite a bit of sodium, mostly because of the Old Bay Seasoning.   

To lighten it up a little further, Lee used brown rice for a healthier option along with the use of fresh vegetables and quality meats with no filler.  It's a meaty dish for sure, but if you stick to the serving size of 1 cup of rice and 1 cup of Jambalaya it’s still really filling.  

Ingredients:

Instant Brown Rice

1 can Tomato Sauce

3 cups Chicken Stock

3 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

5 tablespoons Paprika

1 tablespoon Thyme

a pinch of Salt (I used Spanish Infused Sea Salt)

1 Red Onion (Chopped)

1 bunch of Scallions (Chopped)

2 Jalapenos (Chopped)

3 cloves of Garlic (Chopped)

2 Tomatoes (Diced)

1 bag Jumbo Raw Peeled and Deveined Shrimp

1 pack Chorizo Sausage (Diced)

1 pack Andouille Sausage (Diced)

1 pack Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (Cut into small pieces) 

1 small Lean Pork Roast (Cut into small pieces)

3 tablespoon Olive Oil

Homemade Cheese-Its Crackers

I came home from work today to find a snack waiting on the counter.  I popped them in my mouth without asking what they were- which sometimes can be a household hazard here.  Immediately I recognized the taste- cheese-its!   

Kicked Up Chicken and Dumplings

When Lee told me he was making chicken and dumplings, I threw a bit of a fit.  I've never been a big chicken soup fan, and for some reason in my head dumplings are the same thing as biscuits and gravy which I really do hate.  

Luckily, Lee proved me wrong with this amazing version. 

Perfect broth, perfect dumplings, perfect chicken. 

After last week’s beer brined chicken, he’s obsessed so we picked up a whole cut up fryer at the store and he prepared that recipe.  Then he added just a little spice to the dumplings.  By the way, if the dumplings were called really thick noodles, I probably wouldn’t have had any problem at all. 

Crispy Potato Ring

A couple of years ago, we bought a soufflé dish to make a chocolate soufflé.  It was amazing.  We should make that again.  After the chocolate soufflé was devoured, the dish went back in the cabinet for year, waiting for the perfect dish to carry.  

We found it with today’s dish. 

You’ll probably recognize these potatoes from the picture of yesterday’s post, they were the amazing side dish. 

First, a disclaimer: I love undercooked potatoes.  If you don’t, you probably don’t want to attempt this recipe.

The potato crust is just chewy enough and hides the soft center that waits for you inside the dish. 

Goulash and Csipetke

Goulash.  It sounds like some sort of torture food, doesn’t it?  I had my first experience with goulash when I was 5.  I was at my best friend’s house and her mom served it up for dinner.  I was a picky kid and wouldn’t eat it, but her mom forced me to have just one spoonful, which quickly turned into two bowlfuls.  It was delicious. 

Then later, I discovered something even better, Grandpa’s Goulash.  What I remember most about my Grandpa was his garden, he had this huge garden filled with corn and beans and all kinds of great vegetables, but most importantly, it was overrun with strawberry and raspberry bushes.  We would spend hours picking (and eating) the berries.  I thought that was the best thing about his house, until the day he made goulash.  It was nothing like what was served up at my friend’s house, but it was even better.  Grandpa’s been gone over 15 years now, but whenever goulash comes up, I think of him.  

So when I was reading Hunter Angler Gardener Cook blog the other day and came across a recipe for not just goulash, but venison goulash, I knew I had to make Lee make it for me.  He swapped out venison for chuck roast because oddly, we don’t have venison in the freezer right now. And we didn't have lard or sunflower oil, or caraway seed, or two kinds of paprika.  So go to their blog for the original recipe, Lee's adapted recipe is below.

Goulash and homemade noodles- WOW