Cheesey Broccoli Soup

There was a time in my life, not so very long ago, where the canned soup aisle was my favorite grocery store destination. I knew all the rules about only shopping in the outer aisles where the meats, produce, and dairy were, but those were secondary to the soup aisle.

When we started reading labels, I quickly realized that the canned soup aisle was not my friend. In fact, if we would've kept up with our "relationship", that aisle would've eventually killed me.

The Campbell's people knew that too, that's why they, along with most of the other soup maker's, started offering "healthier" alternatives. For my family, that still wasn't good enough. A person should never get a headache or expect their fingers to swell after consuming a bowl of comforting chicken noodle soup.

But that's exactly what happens. Loaded with sodium, msg, and other words that would send spell-check into melt-down mode, this is not the dreams that soups are made of.

Recently, I decided to clean out our pantry area that holds our store-bought, canned foods. I ended up throwing away 31 cans of soup.

Because they were expired.

Considering canned soups have a shelf life of 100 years or so (give or take a year), that's a clue as to just how long it's been since we've cracked open a can.

With broccoli coming into season, now is a great time to use this versatile veggie. Higher in vitamin C than any citrus fruit, broccoli is considered one of the top 10 powerhouse fruits & vegetables. Broccoli has also been proven to fight and prevent cancer, is high in fiber, and is low carb. Don't worry too much about whether or not your broccoli is organic, broccoli is one of the "Clean 15", which makes it a very inexpensive whole food.

A quick trip to Costco and a stormy day are to blame for this soup.

Never in my life have I ever been so thankful for the rain.

~Cheesey Broccoli Soup~

~The Players~

6 cups broccoli heads

8 cups vegetable broth

1/2 large, sweet onion, chopped

1 orange or red pepper, diced

2 medium, thin-skinned potatoes, diced

2 Tb. unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour (Use rice flour to make it gluten-free!)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups whole milk

pinch of cayenne

salt & pepper, to taste

4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Steam broccoli; set aside. In a large pot, saute onion and sweet pepper until soft. Add broth and bring to boil. Add potato pieces and cook with lid on until potatoes are soft.

Temper the heavy cream and add to the soup. Stir in milk. Add broccoli and flour.

Using a food processor, puree soup in batches until all is creamy. Put soup back into pot and reheat, but do NOT boil. Stir in cayenne pepper; season with salt & pepper to taste.

Remove from heat. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese until melted. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Serves 12~just enough for lunch tomorrow!

Enjoy!

This post is linked to The GCC Recipe Swap.