Cheese Soup with a Twist

Name: Cheese Soup with a Twist
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).
Cuisine: Comfort Food Recipes, Comfort Food Soup Recipes
Ingredients: 5 bacon strips, diced; 1/2 cup chopped celery; 1/2 cup chopped onion; 1/2 cup chopped green pepper; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper; 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth; 2 cups whole milk; 3 cups cubed process cheese (Velveeta); 1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives; 1/2 cup grated carrots; 2 tablespoons sherry, optional; Minced fresh parsley

One of my favorite childhood memories is of my Aunt Claire serving up hearty bowlfuls of her famous cheesy soup. She would pair this cheese soup with a slice of warm buttered bread for a downhome lunch. —Rob Feezor, Alexandria, Virginia

Ingredients

5 bacon strips, diced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
3 cups cubed process cheese (Velveeta)
1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
1/2 cup grated carrots
2 tablespoons sherry, optional
Minced fresh parsley

Directions

In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain. In the drippings, saute the celery, onion and green pepper until tender.
Stir in flour and pepper until blended; gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
Add the cheese, olives, carrots and, if desired, sherry; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Sprinkle servings with parsley and bacon.

Test Kitchen Tips

Buy several pounds of bacon when it’s on sale. Put the strips in a single layer on jelly roll pans and pop them in the oven to bake at 350° until crisp. Then place the strips on paper towels to drain before storing them in single layers in a freezer container. It’s easy to remove only the number of strips you need for a quick breakfast, sandwich or salad. A short time in the microwave reheats the bacon.

To keep parsley fresh for up to a month, trim the ends of the stems and place the bunch in a tumbler with an inch of water. Be sure no loose leaves are in the water. Tie a produce bag around the tumbler to trap humidity; store in the refrigerator.

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Nutrition Facts

1 cup: 292 calories, 21g fat (10g saturated fat), 50mg cholesterol, 1155mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate (8g sugars, 1g fiber), 14g protein.

Reviews

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Average Rating:

randcbruns

Apr 8, 2018

This needs some tweaking but it is a great soup. I like using heavy cream instead of milk. I leave out the olives and I add in some pimento cheese.
regulus

Mar 31, 2015

Substitute the pimento-stuffed olives with black olives and use heavy whipping cream instead of milk and you'll have one butt-kicker of a recipe!
tcarver

Mar 21, 2014

Velveta was way to over powering. Olives didn't taste good with the cheese.