One of the amazing things that I’ve learned by cooking through Simply in Season is how many things you can make from scratch that don’t take much time at all. Not only does this make your food much healthier (no added preservatives or sodium, and you can control what’s in it) but it’s cheaper and you don’t need to make as many trips to the grocery store.
Now, my mom is a g
reat cook. But with a household of four girls, she was quite busy! So processed, canned, and boxed foods were definitely the norm except for special occasions. I remember when I was in gradechool and my neighbor made a chocolate cake from scratch for a class project. I couldn’t believe it, it was so good! I told her it was just as good as if it was from a box.
Years later, one morning I was in the mood for pancakes. I told DH that I was going to make them for breakfast. “But we don’t have any pancake mix,” he said. With a twinkle in my eye, I proceeded to pull out The Joy of Cooking and made some pancakes. They were different from boxed, he conceded, but just as good.
Today’s soup is one of those recipes. You could just as easily go buy some Progresso on sale, but this tastes so much fresher.
- To start with, put a cup of water in a pot. Let it warm up while you dice 2 C of potatoes, 1 C onion (I used one onion and one leek), slice 1 C carrots and 1/2 C celery (I used bok choy). Let them cook for 5 minutes.
- Then, add 2 C chopped broccoli and let it cook another 5-10 minutes.
- Then, add 3 C of milk, 2 chicken or vegetable boullion cubes, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I used a dash of rooster sauce since I didn’t have any on hand), salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, blend 1 C of milk and 1/3 C of flour until smooth, stir in the soup, and watch it thicken right before your eyes! Turn off the heat.
- Stir in 1 C of shredded cheese and stir until melted.
The verdict: I was amazed at how creamy this soup was, and how all the flavors stand out as opposed to all blended together and mushy like a canned soup. I left the broccoli a little crunchy which was very satisfying. This would be a great soup to make an extra batch (or two) of to bring to work during the week.
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She’s not allowed to make this again. I ate it all. Not good for one trying to drop a few pounds.
I hear you…it was the best broccoli soup I’ve ever had–without a doubt!