Beer Cheese Soup Extrordinaire

I haven't made a beer cheese soup in a long time and decided it was cold enough to warrant making one. I looked up a few recipes for a general idea and decided to make mine extra special by adding bacon and some vegetables. Bacon makes everything better! I served with fresh baked bread.

It turned out to be creamy, a bit spicy and really tasty!

1 cup carrots chopped

1 cup diced celery

2 peeled and diced russet potatoes

1 yellow onion chopped

1 large container of chicken stock and one can (I used a combo of chicken and beef as that is what I had)

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp Cayenne

1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 can diced green chili's

16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I used Tillamook)

1 12oz can beer, I used a nice amber ale

2 tsp flour

1 lb bacon, diced

Place your diced bacon into your soup pot and cook until crisp, remove and set aside

Drain most of the bacon grease, add your carrot, celery and onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Add your chicken stock, dry mustard, Tabasco, Cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, green chili's and beer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Taste for spiciness and salt and pepper, add as needed.

In the meantime sprinkle your cheese with the flour mixture and coat well.

Add your cheese, mixing until well incorporated and thickened. Depending on the thickness of the soup and your taste, you can add a roux to thicken it more. Check again for taste and add more of anything you like, i.e. Cayenne, salt, pepper, etc.

Serve sprinkled with bacon on top!