Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup
From the Kitchen of Stephanie

Ingredients:

Two Boxes of Organic Chicken Broth (turns out to be about 8 cups of broth)
1 whole yellow onion (diced)
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 Cup Butter (unsalted, 1 stick)
6 Red Potatoes (4 of them cubed, 2 of them diced...bite sized)
In total about 8-10 cups broccoli, chopped....you can leave 2 cups whole b/c it will be blended later
4-5 cups Medium Cheddar Cheese
1 cup water
7 TBSP flour
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 1% Organic Milk)
2 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp dill

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic until translucent in bottom of a stock pot with the EVOO. Add the 4 cubed red potatoes, the stick of butter and one box of chicken broth (4 cups). Cover and cook about 15-20 minutes....for the last 8 minutes add the 2 cups of whole broccoli florets and cover.

Once broccoli is steamed and fork tender, use hand blender (or food processor/blender) to blend the soup together. This will create a base to make your soup thick later on. Add some salt and pepper, dill, and 1 tsp of garlic powder.

Once blended add 2nd box of chicken broth, milk, and the green onions. Allow soup to come to a boil. Once boiling, add the 2 diced potatoes and 4 cups of broccoli. Bring back to a boil and then turn down heat until your soup is at a low simmer. In the meantime, dissolve flour into the water.

After about 15 minutes, turn the heat back up to medium and add water/flour mixture, 1 more tsp of garlic powder and more salt and pepper if you think it's needed.

Cook another 20-25 minutes (on medium low to low) until soup starts to get to a good thick consistency, stirring every 5 minutes or so to keep anything from sticking to the bottom. In the mean time shred your cheese.

Next, add about 2.5 cups of cheese and stir. Allow cheese to melt and add next two cups. Again, stir and allow to melt. Add the last 2-4 cups of chopped broccoli and allow to simmer until broccoli is fork tender (about ten minutes). Check one more time on the seasoning and add any extra salt, pepper, or garlic powder as desired.

Serve each portion with some of the cheese that is left over and croutons (if you have any). Enjoy!