Honestly I make this soup only about once a year… for obvious reasons. It’s not necessarily screaming healthy! But oh man is it ever so tasty! I like to make this soup with my last round of jalapenos that come out of the garden. By that time the weather is nice and chilly, the majority of the leafs have fallen, perfect soup weather! We make a lot of soup in this house! When we make soup we make VERY large batches to make sure we have plenty to freeze. I usually double this recipe.Anyways, it usually is not until mid November I am pulling my last round of peppers out of the garden but this year it happened a little earlier. We had two nights where it drop down into the 30’s last week which killed off the last of my peppers and straggling summer crop. So, when I checked the weather and saw we were getting down into the 30’s I ran out the garden and plucked every last pepper! I knew exactly what I was going to make with them!
This soup is so savory! It is full of unique flavors that pair so well together. I feel like this is a mans soup (of course women will enjoy it too)! Probably because my husband LOVES spicy food, cheese and I always make sure to make this soup with his home-made beer. He started brewing beer about two years ago. He keeps a keg of beer in the fridge in our garage and in the late summer he always brews a brown ale, PERFECT for cooking with!The beer and the smoked gouda cheese is such a good combo and the jalapenos give this soup the perfect kick! Its creamy and rich! Y’all are sure to love it!! This would be the perfect soup to indulge in while watching football on a chilly fall day!

Ingredients 

1  cup of smoked gouda cheese

1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 cup of milk

2 cups of beer (brown ale)

1/4 cup of flour

2 tbsp of fresh thyme

1 tbsp of fresh parsley

1 cup of chopped jalapenos

1 onion

1 package of bacon

Yields: 4 servingsStart by shredding cheese and set aside. Chop onions, garlic and jalapeno and set aside. If you don’t want your soup too spicy then take the membranes and seeds out of a few of your jalapenos that will help to mild out the spice. Chop parsley finely and set a side. Remove thyme leafs from stems and set aside.

TIP: The easiest way to do this is hold the top end of your thyme stem with one hand then with your opposite hand take your thumb and pointer finger and starting at the top of the thyme stem slowly pull downwards. The thyme leafs should slip right off the stem. This should save you some time. Instead of plucking each little individual leaf off.
In a skillet fry bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and place on a towel to help soak up some of the grease. Once bacon is cooled crumble and set a side. Dispose of half of the bacon grease and leave the other half in the pan. Turn the pan to medium heat and add onions, garlic and jalapenos, sauteing until onions are translucent. Then add flour to pan, stirring until onions and jalapenos are coated.Add milk to pan and stir. Add smoked gouda cheese and stir slowly until melted. Add beer continue stirring and add cheddar cheese stirring until melted. Once cheese is melted completely add thyme and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn soup on low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Stirring frequently. If the soup gets to thick add more milk until desired consistency.
Ladle into bowls and top with bacon bits, sliced jalapenos and shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy!!

Grow it. Pick it. Cook it. Eat it.

Chantelle