Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Do you ever set out to make something, and all of a sudden realize you've never made it before and you have no earthly idea why? That happens to me not regularly, but more often than I like. For instance, the first time I ever made mashed potatoes was when I was darn near 30, which makes no sense whatsoever.

It also happened with broccoli cheddar soup. I wanted some, and I decided I should make it. I started looking for my recipe, and after about an hour suddenly realized I don't have one. I'd never made it. How odd! But, I headed to the internet, starting with some food blogs with which I have had great good luck in the past. And as it turns out, Sweet Jeanette came through for me again. Thank goodness!

I'm not going to lie... I tweaked her recipe a bit. I didn't exactly measure much of anything, because I figured it would be forgiving. I bought three broccoli crowns and the smallest individual carrot I could find and used all of them. I also used the entire pint of half-and-half instead of just one cup, all 12 slices of cheese in the package, and added about half a bag of shredded cheddar I had hanging out in the refrigerator doing nothing.

I used my microwave steamer to cook the broccoli rather than going to the hassle of steaming it on the stove. Put it in for 5 minutes and it came out perfect. Feel free to steam yours however you want... I love my microwave steamer and use it constantly.

I sort of didn't follow the directions, but I sort of did. I whisked together the chicken broth, half-and-half, and flour and started heating it before I added everything else. I'm not sure how long I heated it, but it was however long it took me to dice the onion and shred the carrot.

Speaking of which... I used my cheese grater to shred the carrot and it worked wonderfully. I'm sure there's some fancy expensive gadget to do it better, but I'm a big fan of simple things that work and are also easy to clean.

After I dumped the carrot and onion in the pan and stirred it in, the broccoli was cool enough to work with. The recipe says to cut it up to about the size of peas, and I suppose that's kind of like what I did. I just chopped until it looked like most of the big pieces were broken up, and then stirred it into the pot.

As I said I used all 12 slices of cheese in my package instead of just using 8, and also added roughly 4 ounces of shredded extra-sharp cheddar. I tore the cheese slices up before I tossed them in, but I probably didn't have to. From here, it took about 10-15 minutes or so over medium heat for the soup to start bubbling. During that time I stirred it pretty frequently to make sure the cheese melted and it wouldn't burn on the bottom.

As it simmers, it gets darker. And thicker. And even more wonderful. I had a heck of a time waiting the half hour before eating, but I know from the various samples I tested every time I stirred that it was only getting better the more time that went by. By the time it was done, you almost didn't have to chew, the cheese flavour was shining through, and it was thick, but not so thick as to no longer be liquid, if that makes any sense.

It's even better reheated the next day. I love when that happens!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Serves 4

3 cups broccoli florets
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
8 slices Kraft Singles Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I know, right?)
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup diced white onion
pinch ground black pepper
I've never made anything from Sweet Jeanette that wasn't amazing, and this soup is no exception. It was absolutely perfect for a cold night when all I wanted was comfort food.

As written, not with my changes:

Serving Size: 450 g

Calories: 327

Calories from Fat: 159

Total Fat: 17.7 g

Saturated Fat: 10.7 g

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Cholesterol: 52 mg

Sodium: 1361 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 26.2 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g

Sugars: 5.1 g

Protein: 18.4 g