Blender Cheddar Soup - Tasty Tuesday!

Yeah.. you read that right. I make soup (sometimes) in my blender. Granted, I have an absolutely awesome blender that will do things like this - and quickly, but it's doable without a blender, too.

Even though it's starting to get warmer, I'm still enjoying some of my favorite cold weather foods, just not always the heavier ones. Soups? Perfect, especially paired with biscuits or fresh bread.

Blender Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:
3 c chicken stock
3 T white wine (ok, so I sometimes go with a dark beer, too)
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
2 Granny Smith apples
2 potatoes, baked
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t nutmeg, fresh grated is best
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese
White pepper, to taste
2 T butter ONLY for the non blender version

Directions (blender):
Bake the poatoes as you normally would. Once baked, cut into quarters or so, but leave the skins on.

Add the chicken stock, wine (or beer), onion (peel it first but no need to chop), garlic (peeled but not chopped), celery, apples (cut into chunks just large enough to allow you to cut out the core), potatoes, thyme, nutmeg, and white pepper.

Slowly bring the blender to high speed. Leave it at high speed for seven or so minutes - you want to see the steam starting to not just build up inside your container but escaping, as well.

Lower the blender's speed to a fairly low one. Based on how your blender is set up, either remove the entire top or just the middle part of it so that you can start dropping in the cheese. Once the cheese is added, blend another 20 or so seconds - not too long, or it will start to get gritty with the cheese. You just want it melted.

Add your pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Directions (non-blender):
Bake the potatoes as you normall would. Once they are baked, cut them into chunks - size isn't specific, as you'll puree them later.

Chop your half onion into smallish piece. Chop your garlic, as well. Melt the butter in a heavy soup pan. Add the onion and then the garlic. Sautee 2-3 minutes. Chop the celery and apple, then add them. Continue to sautee the mixture, stirring periodically, until the onions are turning translucent.

Add the chicken stock, wine (or beer) and baked potatoes. Add the thyme and nutmeg, as well. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

When you puree hot liquids, be sure you are holding the lid on and use a folded hand towel to do so to protect yourself in case of mishap. Filling your (regular) blender no more than 1/3 full for safety reasons, blend the soup in batches - or if you have an immersion blender, go ahead and put it to the test. You want the soup pretty smooth at this point.

Return the soup to the soup pan if necessary. Slowly add the cheese, stirring with each addition to ensure that it is fully melted prior to adding another handful. Stir constantly. This will ensure that you don't get a glomp of cheese in your soup.

Add a few grinds of white pepper and taste. Add additional pepper as needed. Serve immediately with bread. Suggestions are above.

Yum! Enjoy this and more with Blessed with Grace and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.