Cooking with Beer

As promised in the last post, I will be sharing recipes using up some beer we got for Christmas. (Click on the link to last week's post for more details!) Long story short, hubby received 6 cans of beer in our family Christmas draw. I wanted to just give them to somebody else that would actually drink it but I think he was just a little upset at the fact that he received beer and a glue gun and was not actually going away with something he really wanted! (You are all probably wondering what kind of Christmas we have that he would have received beer and a glue gun. We'll save that for another post, folks!)

Anyhoo...on with the recipes! (Just a quick note, these recipes are not my own, however I did adapt some of them. Original recipes can be found here.)

#1. Beer Cheese Soup (I made a double batch. Just cut in half for 4 servings.)

24 ounces beer (I used Alexander Keith's)

3 moose smokies (the original recipe calls for bacon. This is what I had on hand.)

1 cup diced onion

1 cup minced celery

1/2 cup minced sweet red pepper

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup flour

2 cups whole milk (the original calls for half and half. Again, this is what I had on hand.)

6 cups shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper the better)

2 tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Open beer and let stand while dicing vegetables.

Cook whatever meat you are using and chop up into small pieces.

In a large pot, saute vegetables in 2 tbsp of olive oil or leftover bacon grease until soft. Add the chicken broth. Add 1/2 of the beer. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

Pour remaining beer into a small mixing bowl and whisk in flour. Gradually add to broth, stirring constantly, till thick. Add milk or cream, meat and cheese. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste. (I usually don't add salt and pepper right now but set it out on the table instead for each person to do to their own liking.)

Makes about 8 servings.

This soup was so good. I recommend using cream if you are able but even without this soup still had a nice creamy base. Definitely a nice warm you up, fill you up soup at the end of a cold winter day. Pair it with some fresh bread or buns from the oven and you have one delicious comfort food meal!

I will post the others throughout the week (I have four, people!) so be sure to check back in a couple of days to see the next one. I'll give you a hint - it's a delicious dessert! Or if you aren't already a follower, please check out the side bar and get these updates sent straight to your inbox!

Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!