I used to work in a mall restaurant named The Soupery. This was their flagship menu item. Since this was over 30 years ago, I feel comfortable sharing the recipe. It’s the best cheese soup I’ve ever had.
What you’ll need, equipment-wise:
Measuring cups
Whisk and big spoons
Two pots that will hold one gallon of liquid.
Ingredients:
Pt 1
1/2 gallon water
3 Tbl chicken bullion
2 stalks celery, diced small
1/2 bell pepper, diced small
3 tablespoons dehydrated onion
8/10 lb Velveeta cheese, diced into 1 inch squares
Pt2
1/4 cup diced pimiento
1/3 cup Bacon bits
1/4 cup Liquid Smoke
Pt 3
1/2 lb butter
1 1/3 cup flour
In one soup pan, bring the water to a low boil. Add bullion, celery, bell pepper and onion and let cook for 3-5 minutes.
Add the cheese and cook on low medium until the cheese is completely melted, stirring constantly.
Add everything in part 2 and set aside, but keep on a low burner and stir occasionally.
in the other pan, melt the butter then add the flour to make a roux. Let this cook on medium for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
Get your whisk handy.
Pour the cheese mix into the roux very quickly; it might bubble up a bit, so be careful. Beat the mixture heavily over medium heat until it doesn’t thicken anymore, a minute or so.
Set this aside. You can store this for a few days; it makes a LOT. I am freezing my extra.
To serve, mix equal parts of the concentrate with milk. Heat over low heat, whisking constantly.
Finely dice some jalapenos and add to the soup for some extra zing!