Roasted Broccoli Cheese Soup

I know that this is not a Sweet Treat, but no matter it is still a good one!

As the colder weather comes into Northeast PA so does my desire for hot soup.  I am a huge lover of soup, especially the stick to your ribs kind that stays with you all day long.  Now don't get me wrong, I love the good stand byes of Chicken Noodle and Vegetable, but I do like thick and creamy ones like Potato and this one Broccoli Cheese.


Now I looked a lot for a good Broccoli soup and I have to say, that a lot are every similar to one another, so you pretty much can't go wrong on which one you choose.

This one I happen to find from the Pioneer Woman, who also happens to be one of my favorite cooks.  If you want to follow the recipe exactly like she did, here is the link to that recipe.  

I changed this recipe a bit to make it more the way I wanted to, but followed the same basic outline for it.

My husband gave it to major thumbs up!!  Score for me!! 

Okay so here is what you are going to need to make this amazing soup:
4-5 heads of Broccoli cut into florets
Olive Oil
Garlic Sea Salt
Pepper
1 stick butter
1 onion
1/3 cup flour
4 cups Whole Milk
2 cups half & half
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Pinch of Nutmeg
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Colby Monterrey Jack
Chicken broth
Bacon (Because everything is better with bacon)

Toasted Garlic Croutons:
1/2 loaf of French Bread
Olive Oil
Garlic Sea Salt
Pepper

Wash and cut the Broccoli into small pieces and place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Drizzle with Olive oil and generically sprinkle with Garlic Sea Salt and Pepper.  Roast in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  Allow the broccoli to cool a bit.

In a large stock pot, melt butter and add one diced onion, cooking until the onion is tender.  Add the flour to the onion and mix until all the flour is dissolved.  Add the milk, half and half and heavy cream, if wanted, and mix well.  Next add the nutmeg, roasted broccoli, and salt and pepper to the pot and mix well.  Allow the mix to come to a boil and then add the cheese and allow to melt.  Turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. 

Now this next part is optional.  You can totally serve this soup just as it is, but you see I got a cool little immersion blender that I was dying to try out, so this was my test run.  Let me tell you it was AWESOME!!

After allowing the soup to simmer turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool for about 5 minutes.  Using the immersion blender, blend the soup until it is the consistency you want it.  At this point, you can add chicken broth to the soup to thin it out if it is too thick.  Heat the soup back up to blend the broth if needed.  You can also use a food processor or blender if you want, just be careful when blending hot liquids.   

Here is where my husband decided to add Bacon to the soup.  You can totally opt out of this options, but I must admit that the added bacon gave to soup a really nice flavor.  And besides, everything goes better with bacon.

To make the Toasted Garlic Croutons, take a half of loaf of French Bread, or any crusty bread and cut into one inch cubes.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with foil (I used the same pan that I roasted the broccoli in) and toss with olive oil and garlic sea salt.  Place in a 375 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until they are toasted to your liking. 

Dish the soup into your favorite bowl, top with extra cheese if you want and add the croutons and more bacon if you want as well.  I promise you that this will be a soup that stays with you all day and your whole family will love. 

Happy Cooking and ENJOY!!