Cheese Soup

American cheese is a blend of two or more cheeses, often including cheddar. It is most typically a shade of yellow or orange in color, but white American cheese is also sold. Generally speaking, in the United States, if you buy a hamburger of some type with cheese on it, that cheese is American cheese. Legalities in the U.S. require American cheese to be labeled as processed cheese. Some American cheese has a more distinctly aged taste and is often termed "sharp American cheese." I buy the "sharp" variety, and that's what I use for this soup, as it gives much more flavor. Garnish with some store bought or homemade croutons, or with some crumbled bacon. Just a guess, but I think you'll want to make this soup more than once.

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 1/2 cups sharp American, chopped or shredded
1/3 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1/4 cup carrot, finely chopped or shredded
1 teaspoon chili pepper, finely chopped or 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon white or black pepper
2 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons olive oil
scant 1/4 cup flour
1 2/3 cups vegetable broth
1 2/3 cups canned (evaporated) milk
2 teaspoons sweet (non smoked) paprika + more for sprinkling on top of each serving

In a sauce pan, melt the butter with the oil over low heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion softens, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic to the onion at about the 2 minute mark. Add the flour a little at a time, stirring constantly until flour is completely mixed in. Meanwhile, in another pan, heat the vegetable broth, carrot and chili pepper over medium heat (if using cayenne pepper, heat just the broth and carrot). Simmer until carrot is softened. Back to the onion, garlic, flour mixture; increase the heat to medium, then gradually add the hot broth, stirring constantly, until the broth is all added and the mixture thickens. It will be very thick. Now gradually add the milk, stirring well to get everything mixed together. If the soup is too thick, you can add more milk a little at a time, until the soup reaches the consistency you desire. Add the white or black pepper and the paprika (add the cayenne pepper, if using), stir to blend well. Reduce heat to low. Gradually mix in the cheese until it melts. Stir often to prevent any sticking on the bottom of the pan. Do not let the soup boil. 

Cheese soup with some homemade croutons ...

WORD HISTORY:
Hardy-This word goes back to Indo European "khert/khart," variant of "k(h)rat," which had the meaning "strong, firm, powerful." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "harduz," with the same general meaning. This gave Frankish, a Germanic dialect, "hardijan," which meant "to make hard, to make strong," which was absorbed into Old French as "hardir," with the meaning, "to make hard, to harden;" thus also, "to make strong or brave." The participle form provided Old French with adjectival use as "hardi," meaning, "brave, bold." English borrowed the word from French around 1200. This is a case of English borrowing a Germanic word from another language, although the base form of that word, "hard," was an original English word. ^

^ For the history of the word "hard," this is the link to the article with that "Word History:"  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2014/11/whats-in-name-richard-barbara.html