Kitchen Confessions: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Last week when the talk of the town was the snow we might get, I was in the serious mood for some soup.  I started searching Pinterest and came up with a few different recipes I wanted to try.  One of those was a broccoli cheddar soup recipe.  I'm usually a dump all the ingredients in the crockpot kind of girl and anything that requires sautéing and simmering makes me a little nervous because I think it will take too much time.  However, I couldn't find a broccoli cheese soup recipe that sounded good from a crockpot so I decided to make the real thing.  Like not take out, not pre-made from Costco, the real-deal homemade.  As we waited for the snow to arrive the girls and I got to work chopping broccoli, sautéing onions, and simmering our hearts out.

And you know what???  It was TOTALLY worth it. The final product was SO good.  Like I almost threw out my shoulder patting myself on the back kind of good. The kids loved it (minus Boo-Boo who doesn't eat anything), we loved it, and everyone went back for seconds.  I promise this is worth the time and effort! (And it honestly didn't take that long!)  My only regret is that it didn't make more.  I might even double the recipe next time so that we can have leftovers.

Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients:
-1 tablespoon melted butter
-1/2 medium chopped onion
-1/4 cup melted butter
-1/4 cup flour
-2 cups half and half cream
-2 cups chicken stock
-3 cups chopped fresh broccoli
-1 cup matchstick carrots
-8 oz. extra sharp cheddar block, shredded
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Saute onion in 1 tablespoon of butter, set aside.
2. Cook the 1/4 cup melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.  Stir constantly and add the half and half.
3. Add the chicken stock and simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the broccoli, carrots and reserved onions.  Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.
5.  Add salt and pepper and shredded cheese.  Stir to allow cheese to melt.
6. Garnish with shredded cheese.
7. Enjoy!

Original recipe found HERE.  I only made a few adjustments...left out nutmeg (because I didn't have any on hand) and didn't simmer after step #3 for quite as long.  

 

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