cheddar and green chile soup

the original recipe suggests to serve this soup with warm tortillas. well, that sounds good to me. the original also suggests adding 1 cup or more of diced, boiled potato and 1 cup of sliced sausage (here i suggest morning star brand meatless sausage), and possibly some pinto beans--when adding the cheese--to create a meatier, full meal. go ahead, try it.

ingredients:
4-5 T butter
1 small-medium onion, diced
2 T flour
1 can (15 oz) whole tomatoes
6 green chiles
2 cans vegetable broth
2 cups heavy cream
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
salt

instructions:
-melt butter in large pan and add onions. cover pan and sweat onions on low heat for 5 minutes.
-add flour and stir for 2 minutes. turn off burner.
-chop peppers and process them with tomatoes, allowing some texture to remain.
-stir pepper mixture into onions and cook for one minute. then add broth and bring to boil, stirring to make sure flour is not sticking to the bottom.
-when soup is boiling, turn down hear and simmer for minutes, partially covered.
-(you can set aside soup at this point to be finished later. if you set it aside, refrigerate and bring to boil later, then pick up where you left off.)
-on medium heat, add cream and cheese. stir until cheese has dissolved and soup is warm. do not let it boil.
-taste for salt and add sparingly.

serves 4

original recipe from about.com's recipe box, dailies.about.com/recipes/soups/soups49.htm, july 18, 2001. changes made by devon.