Sunday, April 6, 2014

Secret Recipe Club: Broccoli Cheese Soup

Secret Recipe Club
It's time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal!  This month, my blog assignment was Jessie Weaver's blog.  Her blog has recipes on it of course, but also posts about all kinds of other things.  I spent a solid two hours reading her posts the other day and really enjoyed it!  Jessie is a great writer and seems very thoughtful and kind.  Her kiddos are super cute, too.

Anyway, on to the recipe.  Hope Jessie doesn't mind that the recipe I went with is one she posted 7 years ago!  I can't help it, I love broccoli cheese soup, and the recipe she shared sounded really good.  I did alter it some.  Butter and full fat cheddar instead of cooking spray and light cheese, added an extra cup of chicken broth in place of one of the cups of milk because I didn't want to waste part of the carton of broth, and after tasting it I added both salt and a bit of mustard to punch up the cheese flavor.  I also decided to sprinkle the cheddar on the individual bowls of soup as a garnish so it could just barely melt into the soup- yum!

In any case, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the soup.  It's thick, creamy, has great flavor, and is basically the perfect comfort food.  I can pretty much guarantee I will make it again!  Next time I would try doing 8 oz Velveeta because it was surprisingly difficult to detect, and I say that as someone who cannot stand even the tiniest bit of Velveeta in any other recipe.


Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 Tbsp butter
1 C diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 C chicken broth
1 lb frozen broccoli florets (or can use fresh, chopped broccoli)
1 tsp bottled yellow mustard (not dried)
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt to taste (start with 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 C milk
1/3 C whole wheat flour
6 oz Velveeta by weight, diced
shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat and add onion.  Saute until the onion begins to soften, then add garlic, and saute until golden.  Add chicken broth and broccoli.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and whole wheat flour until smooth.  Bring pot of soup to a boil and pour in milk mixture in a thin stream while stirring the soup continuously.  Let simmer about 5 minutes so the flour has time to cook and thicken the soup.  Add Velveeta and stir until melted.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your preferences, I made sure to leave some bigger pieces of broccoli.  Divide soup among bowls and sprinkle each bowl with a tablespoon or two of grated cheddar.

Yield: 6 servings 


13 comments:

  1. I love broccoli cheese soup and it's so much better when you make your own rather than that storebought one with all the preservatives. This must have been so good.

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    1. Hi Lisa! It was quite good. We happily ate it 3 nights in a row! I have the other half of the brick of Velveeta in the fridge and might make this soup again in a week or so.

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  2. I would so use butter and all real cheese now, too! I cook a lot differently than 7-year-ago me. Thanks for your sweet compliments. Your updates sound wonderful.

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    1. Jessie, I hope you don't mind that I picked a recipe you shared so long ago! It just sounded really good :)

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  3. You can't go wrong with broccoli cheese soup. It's my favorite too. Yours sounds and looks super yummy. Great choice.

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    1. Yeah, this is the third Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe I've made over the years, and every recipe I've tried has been really good. Maybe I'm just really easy to please when it comes to broccoli cheese soup, but really, what's not to like?

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  4. Great pick! Broccoli cheese soup is one of my favourites, especially when it's thick and creamy and just a little bit chunky.
    PS: Thanks again for the applesauce cookie recipe (and especially for that wicked delicious browned butter icing)! I had to bring leftovers to the office because I'd have eaten the whole batch all by myself, otherwise. My coworkers are very grateful. ;)

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    1. I'm very glad you liked how they turned out! Much of my baking/desserts end up at my husband's work, too. For whatever reason I only bring things to my work that I specifically made for that purpose.

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  5. I'm also a HUGE fan of Broccoli Cheese soup - it's fantastic! With the way the weather has been it's possible that soup season hasn't ended yet...

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    1. Yeah, seriously! All last week, things were melting nicely and I thought spring was on its way. Spent all day yesterday snowing and we're back where we started. It was nice seeing the ground for a few days, though. Gotta love winter :)

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  6. I love broccoli and cheese together so this soup has my name written all over it. This sounds fantastic!

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    1. This recipe is very good, we really enjoyed it! Quick to make, too.

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  7. ohh, yes please. With the cooler nights coming to Melbourne, this would be a great dinner!

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