Nailed It! The Best Broccoli Soup Ever

I thought I made good cream of broccoli soup, but recently came upon a recipe that was a copycat Panera Bread Co. Broccoli Cheese Soup. Since I had all the ingredients one Sunday night, decided to give it a try.

Oh my, this was the best broccoli soup ever! Sweet hubby and I had bowls and I was looking forward to taking some of the leftovers for lunch the following day.

On the stove was the pot of broccoli soup remains along with a pan of gravy left over from lunch. I asked our son to take the scraps out to the dogs, then walked away. (don't do that to a teenager!). When I walked back in, he was returning the EMPTY soup pot, he gave the soup leftovers to the dogs! Trying to make a motherly point, I asked..."There is a dish of leftover gravy and a pot of freshly made soup, which one looks like it should go to the dogs?" He answered typically of a teenage boy, 'both". One day surely he will appreciate a great pot of soup!

But just to hold on to this recipe, I"m sharing it!

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Cheese 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. Set aside.

Whisk 1/4 cup melted butter and flour together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; cook until flour loses it's granular texture, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk if necessary to keep the flour from burning, 3 to 4 minutes.

Gradually pour milk into flour mixture while whisking constantly. Stir chicken stock into milk mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook until flour taste is gone and mixture is thickened, about 20 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots, sauteed onion, and celery; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir Cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Comments

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Top 10 Workout DVDs

Prevention Magazine is a leader in health and fitness news and products. They recently came up with the top 10 list of workout DVDs. They have examined the many fitness DVDs out there and narrowed down a list of the best ones. There is a DVD for every fitness level. If you are looking to incorporate some exercise into your day in the convenience of your own home, take a look at this list. Here is an additional money saving tip: If you see a DVD that you are interested in, check out Amazon or Ebay before ordering. Many times they have pre-owned DVDs at a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Word Filled Wednesday – Act Justly

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 Sometimes we struggle so hard with the question “What does God want us to do and be?” This verse is a simple yet powerful reminder of some simple things that God requires of us. Act and do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God. There are numerous opportunities each day to do justly, to do the right thing or to make the right choice. We love mercy when we show kindness or mercy oftentimes to those who do not deserve it. Walking humbly before God is acknowledging He alone is God. He is the I AM – no one else is. When we give Him the glory He is worthy of, it will humble our heart before Him. Obeying God doesn’t have to be unattainable or impossible, but can be a joyful, beautiful journey as we go by step and follow Him.

Joyfull Living

Search This Blog