Soup-a-long: Week 2

You might be thinking that I'm slightly crazy for having already participated in this week's soup-a-long while just on the mend from a stomach bug...especially when the soup is a broccoli/potato/cheese one.

mmm...good!

However, I'll let you in on a little secret. I actually made this soup last week. Somebody suggested it to the group, and knowing how good it is, I just couldn't wait.

And I was right - it was delicious.

This soup recipe is a favorite of the Monday night crew, and the recipe was posted to our Google group's document section. I'm not sure where it's from or if my friend Lex (the one who always made it) is the one who actually came up with it, but either way - it's become a staple here for sure.

I've since shared this recipe with so many people, that I can never remember who has it. So, when it was suggested for this week's soup (by somebody else!), it didn't take much prodding from me to eagerly agree.

This soup is as basic as they come, has few ingredients and is easy to make... but tastes absolutely phenomenal. It's warm, comforting and the perfect soup for a chilly night.

 

All the ingredients you will need!

2 pounds potatoes (peeled and cubed)
32 ounces broth (chicken or veggie)
3 cups broccoli (2 medium sized crowns...this was a guesstimate on my part. I figured too much broccoli wasn't going to hurt anyone)
3 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 cups onion (diced) (I went with 1 large onion)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs. Butter

Saute the onions in the butter (do not brown)
Combine onions, potatoes, and broth and boil/simmer until potatoes are tender (about 15 min.)
Add the broccoli and continue to simmer until the broccoli is cooked (5 min.).

Happy, yummy veggies!

Transfer half of the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree.
Add the puree back into the pot with the potatoes, broccoli and broth.
Salt and pepper to taste. Add the cheddar cheese and warm the soup until the cheese is melted.  

As you can see the soup is pretty easy, even for a newbie cook. One thing that made it even easier is that we have a hand held blender and didn't need to worry about moving any of the soup from one place to another - I could just blend it right in the pot!

We enjoyed the soup with some nice, crusty bread. Yum.

This week's soup definitely gets a gold star from me compared to the "meh" soup from last week. To be fair, the bean and barley soup came from a low-fat cookbook...how could it ever compete with a soup laden with butter and lots of cheddar cheese?

The obvious answer is: it can't. Cheese will always win out. I think it has to do with the order of the universe or something. And sure, I could worry about what this deliciously simple soup is doing to my body. Or I could just spend a an extra half hour playing an energized game of hide & seek with my kiddo instead. Cheese and hide & seek? Yes, please.

Check in next week to see what soup will be up, and if you have a favorite soup recipe you'd like to include in our soup-a-long, please leave a recipe in the comments!