Broccoli Cheddar Soup

As far as dinners went this week, it was concert week with the community chorale I sing with, so there were several nights I was out singing. I really wanted to use up/repurpose some of the leftovers in the fridge without having to do something really involved. I made some Alfredo sauce which I put over some noodles I had floating around in the cupboard. 

I had mozzarella cheese, a little bit of Italian sausage and some cooked chicken in the fridge, and tomato pizza sauce in the freezer, so I put together a couple of pizzas.

One was Italian sausage,

and one was chicken alfredo. They both worked well and there were leftovers that came in handy.

As the weather warms up, soup appears less and less on my table, and stir fry, sandwiches, and dinner salads take its place...anything that involves less heat to the house. I love soup, mostly because you throw everything into a pot and you get something that tastes wonderful in the end, that warms you inside and out. (Hello, Mom Food.) I found this recipe in a food magazine I found at Target (LOVE Target), put out by Allrecipes. It touts itself as a copycat of Panera's version of this soup, but I've never eaten at Panera, so I can't say if it is or it isn't. It makes me sad to see soup season leave.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
• 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion in hot butter until translucent, about 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium low and melt the rest of the butter in the pan. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. 

Gradually pour milk and chicken broth into flour mixture while whisking constantly. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.  Add vegetables and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, then stir Cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Comments

[Elisa]

Wait... you’ve never eaten at Panera? I’m thinkin a gals lunch out ought to remedy that... Next hunt?