Bacon Beer Cheese Soup!

Looking for a thick and tasty soup good for anytime of the year? Bacon Beer Cheese Soup has your back. It's the best soup you'll ever eat.

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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6

Items Needed:

• Large pot
• Measuring utensils

Ingredients:

• 16oz bacon (12+ strips), cooked & diced (more bacon if you want toppings!)
• 32 fl oz chicken broth
• 16 fl oz half & half
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 large red pepper, diced (any bell pepper would do fine as well)
• 1 small jalapeno, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 4 large carrots, peeled & diced
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 12 fl oz beer (lager or ale preferred)
• 16 oz Velveeta cheese loaf, cut into chunks
• 5oz Kraft cheese spread (old English sharp cheddar or pimento are good)
• 4oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
• 2oz cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add your olive oil, garlic, and all of your vegetables. Cook until they are soft. About 6 minutes on medium high.
2. Lower your heat to medium low and add the butter. Once it melts, add your flour. Stir until it becomes thick, slightly brownish and all the flour lumps have been dissolved and cooked.
3. Add some of your half & half  until it is "absorbed" by your roux. Keep doing this until you used all your half & half.
4. Add your beer & chicken broth. Cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes to let some of the beer cook out.
5. On medium low heat, add in your Worcestershire sauce & Dijon mustard. Add your salt & pepper. Add in your velveeta cheese and let it melt. Stir it a lot to help the cheese melt.
6. After the Velveeta has melted, add in your your cheese spread (whatever kind you use). Let it slowly melt and stir like the Velveeta.
7. Once the cheese spread has melted, add in your pepper jack cheese and let it melt as well and stir.
8. Do this process once more for the cheddar cheese.
9. Stir in your bacon & voila! Turn off the heat. Add more salt & pepper to taste.

Note: You can add a LITTLE more flour if you like it really thick, like we do! You can also add more beer. We add a few 'sips' from a second can for flavor. I will say it's hard to add "too much" beer, but I wouldn't quite add two 12 fl oz cans, one is good! You can also add broccoli or green onions if you'd like to. They would go well in this! We made simple garlic bread to dip into the soup. You don't have to use Velveeta or Kraft brands. Off brands that are cheaper are great too! Another great option instead of the 2oz cheddar cheese is a smoked gouda or smoked cheddar cheese.

Also, this is the ale we used and did not regret it. It has a smokey taste that pairs well with the bacon, peppers, and pepper jack cheese.
https://saugatuckbrewing.com/beer/bonefire-brown/