Yummy broccoli and cheese soup

Hardly a week goes by this time of year that I’m not making soup.

There are a few that my husband and children request often, from my homemade vegetable soup to French onion in the slow cooker. I also make meatball soup, butternut squash soup and just last week, chicken and rice.

A few years ago, we all tried a wonderful broccoli soup that friend Wendy Skinner made for a soup and sandwich lunch after church. My daughter and her boyfriend were especially fond of it, and Wendy shared it with me. It took me about a year to make the soup, but I finally did and have made it several times since. I also asked Wendy to share the recipe for our church cookbook last year. Her note on the recipe reads: "When I take this to the soup lunch after church, I always come home with an empty pot.” No surprises there!

Broccoli cheese soup is delicious and so simple to make, even after a busy day at work. I bought the ingredients over the weekend and made it in about 30 minutes for Monday night’s supper.

I made a few changes to Wendy’s original recipe. Wendy uses chicken bouillon cubes and water. Instead, I used reduced sodium and reduced fat chicken broth because it’s what I had in my pantry. I used butter instead of margarine and cut it from 6 tablespoons to 4.

I only have skim milk in my refrigerator, so that’s what I used for the recipe; not sure what Wendy uses. It would certainly be richer if you used reduced-fat or full-fat milk instead of skim. Some broccoli and cheese soups call for half-and-half. I had some half-and-half in the refrigerator Monday night, so I added a slash of that to make it extra creamy.

This soup would also be delicious with some diced carrots or cauliflower cooked along with the broccoli and onions.

We ate our soup with a loaf of French bread and some fresh fruit. It was a delicious meal for a dreary fall night!


Broccoli and Cheese Soup

• 3 14-ounce cans chicken broth (I use Swanson’s Natural Goodness fat-free, lower sodium)
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 2 boxes (10 ounces each) frozen chopped broccoli
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 pound box 2 percent Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 quart milk

Pour chicken broth in a soup pot over medium heat and add onion and broccoli. Cook until tender, around 20 minutes.

While that’s cooking, warm up one cup of the milk in the microwave until lukewarm. Whisk in flour, then add in remaining milk, mixing until incorporated. When broccoli mixture has finished cooking, stir in cheese, and heat on low until cheese melts. Stir in milk mixture and heat through. I had a half-and-half in my refrigerator, so I added a splash of that to the soup for extra creaminess.

Recipe adapted from Wendy Skinner