Recipe #219: Reuben Soup

I'm mad I couldn't get a better picture of this, but I was tired, starving, and in a hurry... you'll just have to take my word for it that this soup tastes EXACTLY like its sandwich version.  Definitely delish, as my burnt mouth can vouch for.  Yet another allrecipes.com post.... My cookbooks are starting to feel neglected!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion, chopped 4 stalks celery, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 cup butter 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 4 cups beef stock

1 quart half-and-half 1 pound cooked corned beef, chopped 1 cup sauerkraut 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (such as Spice Islands® Beau Monde Seasoning) freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided 1 (6 ounce) package rye croutons

DIRECTIONS: 

1.	Cook and stir onion, celery, red bell pepper, butter, garlic, tarragon, and caraway seeds in a stock pot over medium heat until vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
2.	Slowly stir flour into vegetable mixture. Cook on low until flour is lightly browned, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes.
3.	Stir beef stock, half-and-half, corned beef, sauerkraut, seasoned salt, and black pepper into vegetable mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until soup is heated through and slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.
4.	Stir 2 cups Swiss cheese into soup until melted. Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with rye croutons and remaining Swiss cheese.