Thursday, April 2, 2009

Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.
My notes: I didn't have 2% milk so I used 1% instead. I think it came out fine with the 1%. Since I'm not a big fan of chunks of onions I used onion powder instead of actual onions so I would get the flavor, but not the texture. I made it the day before and reheated it. I forgot to get the blender out to puree part of the soup. Even without pureeing I think it came out relatively smooth, plus I kind of liked the extra bits of broccoli. I'd definitely make it again! It would probably be good with some potato cubes added to it.