For me there is foods that just seem to taste better when the weather starts cooling down. Is it this way for you? Fall has me thinking about soups, warm bread, family memories, and those recipes that somebody made years ago that you wish you had written down.

So today, I thought I would invite you to lunch. Would you like to join me for a bowl of cheese soup and some crunchy French bread? And since it is Sunday, we’re going to have a little fun with it, too. I had to take some time for me to regroup and figure out what I wanted to do with this thing called life.

With the time off I even took a few days off from our guides, but they are back starting today—and we’re starting with Fall! I needed to take a little time to catch up on some other things, but I didn’t want us to stay away from the guides for too long. Starting today, each day of the week we’ll be sharing a guide with you.

Some days will have things to discover, some will have ideas for families, some will have shopping and gift ideas, and some will have activities you can actually do. And, of course, we’ll continue giving you opportunities to earn tickets along the way. So let’s get Fall started! Buttercup!

For a lot of people Fall has them thinking about Pumpkin flavored food and drinks but for me Fall always makes me think about soups. How about you? One of the soups I still remember is the steak soup Suzanne’s big sister Stevie from Big Brothers & Big Sister’s used to make.

Oh my goodness, that soup was good. Her kids Brian and Patrick had a funny name for it—Tiger’s Puke—which still makes me laugh when I think about it. I wish I knew exactly how she made that soup. I don’t. And I’m not going to pretend I do because I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

But it got me thinking about another soup from my family. My cousin used to make a cheese soup that was SO good. And one of the things I remember most is eating it with a McDonald’s Big Mac. Yes, you read that right. I would dip the Big Mac into the cheese soup. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

I don’t know exactly what my cousin Jeffery put in his cheese soup either, so today’s recipe is simply my memory-inspired version of the creamy cheese soup I’m craving. If you don’t want to try it contact Schlotzki’s because they used to make a Wisconsin Cheese Soup that was so good and would have me ordering it instead of the Potato Soup I loved.

Easy Creamy Cheese Soup

You’ll need:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• Salt to taste
• Optional: a small pinch of paprika

To make it: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened. Just’s done tell Charlie and David I use Onion please. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for about a minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, followed by the milk and half-and-half. Continue stirring until the soup begins to thicken. Lower the heat and gradually add the shredded cheeses, stirring until melted and creamy. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and optional paprika. Keep the heat low and stir until everything is smooth.

Don’t let it boil after adding the cheese.

Serve it hot with a piece of crispy French bread for dipping. And if you’re feeling adventurous… Well, you could always try dipping something else into it, too. I’m not judging. Are you?

Don’t Forget the French Bread: For me, this soup needs something crunchy on the side. Give me a loaf of French bread with a crispy crust, warm it up, slice it, and let me dip it right into that creamy cheese soup.

That sounds like Sunday lunch to me. And honestly, it also sounds like the kind of meal that makes you slow down for a minute and remember the people you love.

That’s one of the funny things about food. Sometimes you don’t remember every ingredient. You may not remember exactly how somebody made something. But you remember how it tasted. You remember who made it. You remember who was sitting around the table.

You remember somebody laughing. You remember your kids being little. And sometimes you remember a silly family name like Tiger’s Puke and can’t help but smile. Those are the memories I want to keep making room for here at Greatful Moments which allows me to share stories about my family.

Since we’re bringing the Fall Gift Guide Guide back today, I thought we should do something fun. And what says Fall more than s’mores? Today we’re putting a little Fall twist on them. You can make one, make all five, or let everyone in the family choose their favorite.

Five Fall S’mores to Try

1. Classic Fall S’more– Chocolate + marshmallow + a tiny sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

2. Pumpkin Pie S’more– Pumpkin butter + chocolate + marshmallow + pumpkin pie spice.

3. Caramel Apple S’more– Caramel + chocolate + marshmallow, with a very thin slice of apple if you’d like.

4. Pumpkin & White Chocolate S’more– Pumpkin butter + white chocolate + marshmallow + pumpkin pie spice.

5. Pumpkin Crunch S’more– Pumpkin butter + chocolate + marshmallow + a little finely chopped pecan for crunch, if your family can safely enjoy nuts.

Oven Method– Place your graham crackers on a baking sheet. Add your chocolate and marshmallow combination and warm in a 400°F oven for about 3–5 minutes, watching closely. Put the graham cracker top on and enjoy! An adult should supervise the oven, and marshmallows can brown quickly.

Microwave Method– For a quick version, assemble your s’more and microwave it for about 10–15 seconds. Check it before adding any more time because marshmallows expand quickly.

Today’s Fall Guide Challenge

We’re kicking off the return of the Fall Guides with TWO possible tickets today! Ticket #1 — Make Your Fall S’mores- Complete today’s interactive Fall S’mores activity and earn 1 ticket. Ticket #2 — Read for 10 Minutes- Spend 10 minutes reading today’s post and earn 1 additional ticket.

Today’s Maximum: 2 Tickets 1 ticket for the Fall S’mores activity and 1 ticket for 10 minutes of reading That’s 2 tickets you can earn today!

Remember, your parent or family can provide the rewards for the tickets you earn.

I’m excited to get our guides going again. We took a few days off, but sometimes you need to step away, catch your breath, and take care of other things. Now we’re ready to get back to having some fun. Starting today, we’ll be sharing a guide with you each day of the week.

And we’re starting right here with Fall. So grab your family, make some Fall s’mores, curl up with a bowl of cheese soup, and maybe put on an old favorite movie afterward. For me, that might just be The Little Rascals—because sometimes a throwback movie is exactly what a Sunday needs.

And if you have a family soup recipe that brings back memories, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe you don’t know every ingredient anymore. Maybe you don’t even know how to make it. That’s okay. Sometimes the memory is the recipe and that is what allows us to make new memories and keeps me grateful, thankful and blessed.

Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed

GreatfulMoments.com

✝️ Glenda • 🐸 David • 🎮 Charlie • 🦋 Suzanne