It was chilly this past week. It is only the end of August and already it feels like October. I haven’t been running the air at night for the past two weeks as it has been between 58-62 at night. Perfect sleeping weather but I don’t like what the chilly days foreshadow. But, for now it has decided to make a 90 degree turn and head back up into the high 80s and 90s for the rest of this week into next week. The kids head back to school next week so this always happens just as they start.

I made Slow Cooker Beer Cheese Soup and Banana Brownies while it was still chilly. We are at the very end of the pantry clean out and supplies are running low but we still had cheese, a bottle of beer, some heavy cream and a few veggies that were about ready to turn it was perfect.

Verdict:

This was DELICIOUS! I was a little leery of the beer in the soup. I used an amber ale that was in our refrigerator. My kids don’t like the smell of beer and the taste is something they don’t care for usually in foods. But, the beer enhanced the cheese and vegetable mixture to a sublime, creamy, mixture.

Use a gluten-free beer and Worcestershire suace if you wish to make this gluten-free.

I served this soup with a crusty French baguette and a greed side salad.

Directions:

• 1 (32 oz) container Vegetable Stock
• 1 (12 oz) bottle of beer, amber or red ale
• 8 oz carrots, shredded
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
• 2-3 cloves of minced garlic
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (use block cheese you grate yourself, pre-shredded cheese will not work as well or taste as good)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix vegetable stock, beer, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in the bowl of the slow cooker. Cook 6-8 hours until vegetables are very soft.
2. Using an immersion blender or a blender in small batches beat until soup is smooth.
3. After soup is smooth add in cream and cheese. Stir until smooth.
4. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and water (blend until all cornstarch has dissolved in the water) in a small bowl. Add the slurry to the soup and cover.
5. Allow soup to cook an additional 5-10 minutes until it thickens.
6. Serve hot with parsley, green onion or extra cheddar cheese if desired.