Home made Broccoli Cheese Soup

 Have you ever had one of "those" days,  You know the kind, the kind where no matter what something just doesn't work out? I am having a day like that. 

It is going to storm here in Nova Scotia tomorrow and as I had some free time I decided I would prepare some yummy soup to stave off the cold and snow.

Broccoli Cheese soup in fact. Here is the thing about broccoli cheese soup, it is wonderful thick and creamy. It is easy peasy to make. But here is the thing,- it cooks FAST. Like really really fast. Because of this I didn't get many pictures, I was busy making sure it didn't stick as it bubbled and thickened. 

But I did get a few so you will get the idea

Here is what you will need

3 good sized heads of fresh broccoli
1 diced onion
2 Cups of milk
2-3 Cups of sharp cheddar cheese
1 Cup of chicken stock
1 stick of butter about a half a cup
Half a cup of flour
2 Table spoons of fresh pepper
1 Teaspoon of salt

I start with the broccoli, if you don't have fresh you can use one package of frozen.

 Dice your broccoli and onion up any way you like, I like some chunks in mine so I chop it kind of big. (if you don't like onion you can leave it out if you like)

Now go grab a stock pot and melt your butter in there.

Once your butter is all melted toss in your veggies and stir them around, what you are going for here is bright green broccoli and your onion just starting to turn translucent.

Once your veggies are nice and bright, toss in your flour and stir that around, quickly add in your chicken stock, milk and seasonings.

Now here is the part where things get going quick, I find you have to stir constantly or it will start to burn, so stir, and stir and stir some more, every so often check the tenderness of your broccoli, once it tender remove your pot from the heat. (It should also be fairly thick at this point as well. If you find it too thick, just add a couple of splashes of chicken stock to thin it to your desired consistency)

This is the point where picture taking was all but forgotten :(

Now I use and emulsion blender to do my blending, if you don't have one you can use a blender but never fill your blender more than half, Hot liquid expands and you don't want it to explode all over your kitchen and you. Or you can use a potato masher if you are really energetic, I am not. I used the emulsion blender.

Now its time to add the cheese, place your pot back on the heat (medium low at this point) and stir in almost all of your cheese ( save a little for garnish later). Stir until the cheese is thoroughly melted.  Remove your pot from the heat and let rest for 5-10 minutes. 

Then its ready to serve ( I remembered to take pictures at this point) sprinkle some of the cheese for garnish on top and enjoy!

This makes about 6 servings and as for freezing truthfully it has never lasted long enough in our home to find out!

If you try it let me know how it turns out in the comments below!