Broccoli Cheddar Soup

So we made vegetable stock last post.  Now what do we do with it?!

The most obvious and cliche choice would be soup, right?  Right.  And it just so happened that I was really in the mood for some. 

A friend of mine had given me some broccoli from her garden in exchange for some pizza dough and gluten free banana bread (hooray for trades!) a little while back and it had just been sitting in the freezer all this time.  I noticed I had a bunch of cheese in the fridge too.  So it looks like my soup was picked out! 

Broccoli cheddar is just one of those soups that goes so well with a fresh baguette or a sandwich.  It screams comfort to me, and is perfect for a quick lunch.  So let's get to it!


Ingredients:


2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, julienned
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 cups vegetable stock
1 large crown of broccoli, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
pinch of nutmeg
1/8 cup basil, chopped
1/2 cup Velveeta (I'm not ashamed)
1/2 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste

It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but most of these items I have on hand on a regular basis, so I'd assume the same might be said for you all, too!

Melt the butter in a medium sized stock pot under medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Cook until the onions are just translucent, about 3-4 minutes.

Add flour and stir until a light paste is formed.

Add heavy cream, milk, and vegetable stock.  Bring to a boil.

Add broccoli, carrot, nutmeg, and basil.  Simmer mixture for about 20 minutes.

Turn off heat and stir in cheeses.  Stir until melted and season to taste.

You can leave your soup chunky at this point, or if you like a creamier soup, you can puree the mix for a silkier texture.  I chose to puree mine a bit, leaving some chunks for texture.

Serve with cracked black pepper as a garnish and toasty baguette!

See, what did I say?  Lunch (or dinner) in less than 30 minutes!

Enjoy guys!