Broccoli Cheese Soup

     Thanks to this weird, freakish weather we've been having in Michigan, it's been nice and chilly around here.  When I'm cold, nothing sounds better than soup.  And EVERYTHING is better with cheese, so I bring you broccoli cheese soup! :)  And boy is it yummy!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced (or if you're lazy like me, 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

3 cups chicken broth

1 (16oz) pkg broccoli florets

2 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp black pepper

8 oz Velveeta, cubed

     First, what you want to do is chop up your onion and garlic (if you chose cloves of garlic).  I did mine pretty small, but if you don't mind chunks of onion in your soup, you can do them a little bigger.

     Now heat a large saucepan with the olive oil in it over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic (only if you used garlic cloves, if you used powder, wait).  Sauté for about 3 minutes or until onion is tender.  The onion will be see-through when it's done.

     Add chicken broth, garlic powder (only if you didn't use whole cloves) and broccoli.  I had some huge pieces of broccoli in my bag, so I chopped them a bit smaller.  Again, if you don't mind large chunks in your soup, skip the extra chopping.  Bring your mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

     Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended.  Actually use a whisk, a spoon won't cut it!  Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture.  Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.  Getting an arm workout in woot woot! :)

     Stir in pepper.  Remove from heat and add cheese cubes, stirring until cheese melts.  I switched stirring arms at this point, gotta work them both out!! ;)

not sure why this looks so weirdly colored, it's really not...

     Look at that cheesy goodness!! Yum :)  I love cheese, love it.  This soup is delicious. D. E. Licious.  Really.  I served mine with homemade bread, because as my great-grandma would say, "a meal's not complete unless there is bread and butter".  Mmmmm.

don't mind the squished down pieces...my 22 year old brother is a child

     I hope you enjoy!!!

Happy cooking friends!

     -Katie