Monday Menu – Cheddar Broccoli Soup

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broccoli-soup

I love soup! A lot! If I could I’d eat it a few times a week. But it can’t be the salty, processed soup from a can… nope, it must be the homemade kind. It bothers me that my husband hates soup though…. I’m not sure why I guess there is something wrong with him. Because it’s perfect for lunch or dinner and warms you no matter what.

I’d been planning on making broccoli soup for about a week or so now and never got around to it because I wanted to make sure that I had time to make some fresh bread to go with it or bread bowls if I was feeling ambitious. I waited until the weekend so I’d have lots of time and planned it so we’d have it after spending the afternoon outside getting family pictures taken (more on that insanity later). It’d warm us all up after playing outside in the cold!

Broccoli soup is pretty easy and isn’t something that has to sit on the stove and simmer all day. All you need is about an hour and a great recipe… one that I am going to share with you right now.

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)
  • a handful or so of shredded carrots or 1 medium carrot diced
  • 2 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth.
cream & broth
Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
broccoli
Add the broccoli and carrot and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you’ll still have bits of carrot and broccoli. Return to the pot. (Or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender… my favorite kitchen tool).
blending soup

Add the cheese to the soup and stir over medium heat until melted.

shredding the cheese cheese
Add up to 3/4 cup water or stock if the soup is too thick. Actually, this is perfect for bread bowls because it’s pretty thick and doesn’t soak through the walls of the bread to much and who doesn’t love bread!

What is your favorite soup? What about cheddar broccoli soup… like it, love it, or hate it?