Broccoli Cheese Soup

I love fall, partly because I get to make so much soup for dinner.  And since the weather around here has been particularly blustery and fall-like lately, I decided to try out this recipe from Mangio da Sola for Broccoli Cheddar Soup. 

My husband tends to be less than enthusiastic at the idea of soup for dinner, but this soup really won him over.  I made a few changes to the original recipe, my modified version is what is listed below.  This is a rich, yummy, pretty much incredible soup.  It would be fantastic in a bread bowl. 

As you can tell from the ingredients, this is NOT a low-calorie soup.  But I think it’s worth every calorie.

Ingredients:

•1/4 cup butter
•1/2 chopped onion
•1 tsp garlic powder
•1/4 cup flour
•1 cup half-and-half
•2 cups milk (I used 1%)
•2 cups chicken stock (I used bouillon cubes + boiling water)
•1/2 lb fresh broccoli, chopped
•1 cup carrot, shredded and chopped
•8 ounces Velveeta cheese
•Salt and pepper to taste * I did not need salt, just pepper

Directions:
Sauté the onion (and garlic powder) in the butter over medium heat.  Add in the flour, stirring constantly. Add in the half and half, milk, and chicken stock. Bring to almost a boil.

Add the onions back in, along with the broccoli and carrots. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Season the soup with the salt (if needed) and pepper.  Stir in the cheese (and you can play around with the amounts; use however much or little you like) and let simmer for 10 minutes longer before serving.