I LOVED this recipe. My roommates were raving about it too, but I did make a few alterations. I added bite size chicken to the melted butter, simmered it with chopped onions, minced garlic, and 1 tsp of cayenne pepper (love the kick) then i added chicken stock, only 6 cups though. I love my soup thicker, so i lessened it dramatically. Stirred in a cup of flour, then the rest of the ingredients and simmered it all together for a good 15 minutes. added 8 oz of velveeta, and 1 cup of milk. the cheese melted within 5 minutes, then it was ready to serve. with the tweaks, it was delicious. definitely a keeper!