Today was a pretty busy day. It was our second day back in the homeschool saddle, so we’re trying to get back on that track. It was also gymnastics class day, which falls right before lunch, so we were out of the house for awhile in the early afternoon. It wasn’t a super cold winter day here in NC, but it was a bit overcast and a little cool, so what with everything going on, I thought soup for dinner sounded pretty good. I’d pinned this recipe awhile back and have been wanting to try it, because we love Panera Bread’s broccoli cheddar soup, but we don’t much care for Panera’s price tag (or whatever unknown ingredients might be in their food).
I thought the prep for this recipe would take longer than it did, but it went surprisinglgy fast with a handheld chopper. If I’d used a knife, I’m sure it would’ve been a longer job. After you get all the veggie chopping done, though, everything comes together pretty quickly and smootly. In fact, my bread was still baking in the bread machine and my soup was done.
I’ll repost the original recipe below for convenience. The parentheticals are kept from the original post; they are not my comments. As an aside, apparently commenters at that blog mention ways to transform this into a crockpot recipe, which might be handy sometime. I will add that I omitted the potatoes, because we eat enough potatoes in other soups and I didn’t necessarily want another soup/stew with potatoes. I’m sure it would be delicious with them, but I thought it was just as tasty without. I also ended up adding 1-2 tablespoons more flour because I like this style soup to be pretty thick. Your mileage may vary on both of those changes, I’m sure.
I’m looking forward to making this again. It was a hit with three out of four of us, but my 4-year-old little man is not that fond of broccoli. My only complaint, and it is minor and easily fixed, is that it didn’t make as much as I expected. There is only maybe half of a bowlful left over for my husband to take to work, and I’d hoped for enough to have for leftovers one night, or maybe to freeze for another meal sometime. Again, this is pretty easily remedied, though, with just doubling the recipe. As it stands, it makes a perfectly fine light dinner for about four people, a good starter course, or a great lunch with bread or half of a sandwich.
Cheesy Vegetable Chowder (Lulu the Baker)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 celery stick, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don’t, so I don’t add much)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup milk
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese
Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.
Educate. Renovate. Celebrate. 