Great German recipes you won't find anywhere else. Although I didn’t know it at the time, the little rural town I grew up in – Carrington, ND might just as well been called “Little Germany”, North Dakota. It was a place where you could easily get these German dishes at any downtown café. I grew up on this food, which is made all over North Dakota. But, I never knew that people, say, in Florida didn’t know what “Lefse” was! So here are my mother, Winifred’s easy German recipes for all of you who have missed out on German cuisine. I hope you love them as much as I do. She always said, “it wasn't comfort food, food was FOR comfort!

Beer Cheese Soup Ingredients: 1 cup chopped onions ½ cup grated carrot 1/3-cup celery finely grated ½ cup butter ¾ tsp. paprika ¾ tsp. Dry mustard 12 oz. can beer 5 cups chicken broth 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese 2 cups half and half Tabasco if desired but typically not German ½ cup flour 1 tsp. Worchester sauce Directions: Sautee onions, celery and carrots in butter until tender. Add flour to butter and vegetable mix stir and let cook a minute. Add chicken broth, mustard, Worchester sauce and paprika. Stir in cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Take off the heat and add cream and then beer just before serving, stir until mixed and serve. Serve with croutons.

Karla Nelson grew up in rural North Dakota. She has seven kids and loves to cook and loves to share her families recipes with others.