You are the cheddar to my broccoli, Honey Boo Boo!

 God I can't wait until this head dissipates. As my belly grows, I feel like I am melting into a big blob of baby. I'm 27 weeks pregnant today. Its the second week into October which means only a week or so left of this heat business, and I have 13 weeks left of the baby business. OH! And I have 6 days left of being 31. I still can't believe that in less than a week, I will be the same age as Honey Boo Boo's mother. I shudder at the thought.
 

Is this what the new 32 looks like?

 

There isn't much more that comforts me than a nice thick, creamy bowl of cheddar and broccoli soup. I love soup. Soup is the ultimate comfort food. I had a friend once tell me that 'soup was nothing more than food and water'. Well, technically, yes. If you want to put it that way, soup is food and water. However, soup can also be a glorious masterpiece in a bowl. I love a nice big bowl of soup, stew or chili on a cold day. Heck, I love soup on a hot day (when I am indoors and sitting under the AC).

While grocery shopping on Tuesday evening, I saw that my local grocer had 2lb bags of broccoli florets on sale, which sparked my creative mind and I thought of some delicious, creamy Cheddar & Broccoli soup. Right there in the produce section, I Googled for recipes. I came across a 5 star recipe on the Food Network site by Ree Drummond aka - The Pioneer Woman.

If you know anything about the way that I cook, 9 and a half times out of 10, I never make the recipe the way its intended. I use recipes as a "guideline" and add my own twist to it. Now, I realize that there are a lot of you out there, who don't have a creative bone in your body and are totally lost in the kitchen. That's ok. That is why recipes were invented, to help you out! Let's get to it, shall we? This is my version of Cheddar Broccoli soup.

**WARNING -  this is not a low fat recipe. Don't try to make it low fat. This is how it is meant to be eaten. If you are on a diet, find another recipe. If not, keep reading.

Cheddar & Broccoli Soup

2lb bag of broccoli florets, stems trimmed (or 4 large crowns of broccoli, trimmed)
1 cup julienned (or grated) carrots (they come like this in a bag at the grocery store)
1 stick of butter
4 cups whole milk
2 cups half and half
1 large sweet onion, diced
1/3 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp granulated garlic
1 cup, or more of chicken stock (I used homemade stock)

2- 8oz bags shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the stick of butter over medium heat in a large stock pot, add onion and stir occasionally so that the onions don't burn.

When the onions are translucent, add the garlic and flour. Stir to combine and cook for one minute. Slowly add 1 cup of chicken stock and cook until it starts to thicken, stirring continuously. When it starts to thicken a bit, add the milk and cream and stir again to combine.

 

 

Now add the broccoli and carrots. Combine and allow the soup to come to a calm boil. Stir frequently, because the milk will burn on the bottom of the pan if you don't keep it moving.

Lower the heat to medium-low or even low and stir occasionally. The broccoli will begin to wilt as it cooks. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Partially cover pot and continue to cook on low until the broccoli is tender, about 20-25 minutes. When the broccoli is tender, add the cheese.



Stir in the cheese. Cook for another 5 minutes on low until the cheese is fully melted. When the soup is done, you can leave the broccoli and carrots the way that they are, or you can use a blender or and emulsion blender to make the soup a bit smoother.

Note: If the soup is too thick, you can add more chicken stock to thin it out a bit.

Enjoy!