Soup weather! Well, for me all weather is soup weather, but a nice hearty pot of broccoli and cheese soup simmered on my stovetop this week.
I’m going to share this dish based on an old Cooking Light magazine (remember them?) recipe, but please don’t judge me. It calls for Velveeta and it is delicious. I know.
Velveeta isn’t even actually cheese and there is a pretty good article about it on All Recipes.
Nobody uses Velveeta anymore, but I actually had a large brick I used for two “retro” dishes. One was a queso dip made with Hormel’s chili. Could it get any worse? Are the health police knocking at my door? That dip with white tortilla chips went so fast I forgot how good it was.
So, what to do with half a brick of Velveeta? Ahhh, I remembered this old recipe I had from way back in 2002 (20 years ago?!) so I modified it and made enough for two dinners and to stock the freezer.
A Cooking Light subscription changed my life in the kitchen. When I left home as a young woman I didn’t know a thing about cooking. Cook books were as indecipherable as Chemistry 101. I didn’t like cooking and I hated baking.
But, boy oh boy, I liked to eat.
Then sometime in the 1990s along came Cooking Light. Their recipes were simple, used ingredients I would eat and fell in line with my thinking at the time of what light or healthy eating was.
Over the years, it changed (like all magazines have) and I didn’t enjoy it so much. I was able so snap up the final issue at a library sale a few years ago. I like keeping it for nostalgia sake.
My take on the original recipe is a bit different, so here are my touches.
Swapping Veggies
The broccoli is the star of the soup. Okay maybe the “cheese” really is. But adding a carrot and celery stalk adds a bit of nutrition and depth to the flavor. I used my trusty Mueller chopper for easy chopping and consistent size.
The original recipe calls for 1 cup of chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves, but I completely omitted them and missed them not one bit.
After spraying my pot with avocado oil, I sautéed the veggies for about 5 minutes until softened.
Immersion Blender
I’m sure I mentioned this before, but you can see the avocado green on the handle of my blender. Does that give you any indication of how old it is? Yep, it’s still going strong.
The original recipe called for blending 1/3 of the soup and returning to the pot. I used the immersion blender throughout and that was just chunky enough.
Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot Peeled and Chopped
- 1 large stalk of celery Chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth I used Better than Bouillon
- 1 16 oz bag frozen broccoli florets
- 2½ cups 2% reduced-fat milk
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 8 oz processed chese, cubed such as Velveeta or Velveeta Light
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots and celery and sauté 3-5 minutes until softened.
- Add broth and broccoli. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium and cook 10 minutes.
- Whisk flour and milk together until well blended and add to broccoli mixture. Cook 5-7 minutes until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper.
- Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until melted.
- Blend with immersion blender to desired consistency.