Stephanie's Travels Green Chili Cheese Soup

 I always enjoyed traveling through Colorado for work and leisure during the almost 19 years I lived there. On one such trip to Buena Vista, I had lunch at a local restaurant that offered a variety of soups. We were able to try as many as we wanted but the Green Chili Cheese Soup was the winner and I eat at least 3 bowls!!!! I did not get the recipe but after thinking a lot about this soup, I decided to test kitchen my own version! 

Stephanie's Travels Green Chili Cheese Soup:

Ingredients: 

• 3 tbps olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup flour 
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 2 cans of diced green chili (I use Mild) you choose fire!
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (carton or paste works best)
• 2 cans of diced green chili (I use Mild) you choose fire!
• 1lb shredded Mexican Cheese mixture (16oz)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Garnish with Sour Cream and a pinch of Cheese Mixture

Stephanie's Green Chili Cheese Soup! 

Instructions:

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil with garlic and onion until translucent. Add 1/4 cup flour to the sautéed mix and stir constantly until a light beige color and all is moist. Add the 6 cups of broth and bring to a boil, stir constantly so as to not burn it. (Like gravy)At this point, you can use an immersion hand mixer to liquify the broth with any garlic or onion pieces. (Not necessary unless your like me and only want the green chili pieces in my soup!) Once soup has reached the desired thicknes, add the 2 cans of diced green chili (drained or not drained). If not drained, you will need to allow soup to reboil to get thick again. Once it gets to a slow boil, reduce to a simmer. Now add the cheese, a cup at a time, stirring constantly until all has been mixed into the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. This is the time to see if you want to add anything more: Too Thick - add a cup of hot water or broth. Too thin - allow soup to simmer on very low heat for about 10 mins (make sure the soup is not sticking or burning). 

Most important tips:

• Drain or not to Drain the diced green chilis - if you reserve some of the juice you can add if the soup is too thick
• Make sure once the cheese has been introduced into the soup, you keep the heat low and mix constantly otherwise it will burn and taste BAD!