Wisconsin Beer & Bacon Cheese Soup





*UPDATE* We screwed up and bought this thinking it was Gluten-Free and it is not. Stick to a gluten-free cider.

Dice up broccoli, celery and onions and put into the Crockpot. Add the finely chopped garlic cloves and jar of pimentos. Add the liquid ingredients (beer, chicken broth, heavy cream, and half and half). Then add the potato starch and white rice flour. Stir well to make sure no chunks develop. Add the butter, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, and spices. Then add the gobs of cheese!! Turn the Crockpot to low for 4 to 5 hours making sure to stir about once an hour. Right before eating, crisp up some bacon in a pan or oven. Scoop your cheesy yummy soup into a bowl. Top with some fresh cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream... Then Enjoy!! Note: this makes a lot of soup!! So make sure you have a very large pot. You could cut the recipe in half as well, but personally it's nice to be able to freeze some for another day!



In a large saucepan add the veggies (broccoli, celery, onion, garlic cloves, and pimentos), spices (hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, dry mustard, dijon mustard, and worcestershire sauce), and liquid ingredients (beer, chicken broth, heavy cream, and half and half). Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until veggies are tender then remove from the heat. While that is simmering, in your large soup pot take the butter and heat it over medium heat. Stir in potato starch and white rice flour. Whisk continuously for 3 minutes. Take off of the heat and add the cheese and the rest of the soup until the cheese has completely melted. Turn on stove to low if needed to keep soup warm and fully melt the cheese. In a separate pan (or in the oven) have your bacon cooking during all this until crispy. Top as directed above. Enjoy!

The reason I say Wisconsin is because I was born and raised there... but also because Wisconsin is known for beer and cheese! So yes this is specifically Wisconsin soup ;) Adam came home one night and said that he wanted to try making cheese soup. We looked at some recipes, made our own adjustments, and created this:INGREDIENTS:1 1/2 c broccoli1 1/2 c celery1 1/2 c onion2 garlic cloves1 jar pimentos2 c beer (gluten free)3 c chicken broth1/3 c butter1/4 c potato starch1/4 c white rice flour1 c heavy cream3 c half and half6 c sharp cheddar cheese (shredded pkg)1 tsp hot pepper sauce1/8 tsp cayenne pepper1 tsp salt1/2 tsp pepper1 tsp dry mustard1 tbsp dijon mustard2 tsp worcestershire sauce1 pkg bacon (preferably uncured)METHOD:Crockpot method:Stovetop method: