Broccoli Cheese Soup

Yesterday's loss of power, falling tree branches and heavy rains made the day a little more interesting than I typically like.  The kids were great sports about it and we spent the electricity-free time playing UNO and doing a science experiment involving how many drops of water will fit on a penny (any guesses?) and discussing cohesion and surface tension.

We did get our power back after a couple of hours and, by crazy random happenstance, had the perfect dinner already planned - broccoli cheese soup and baking powder biscuits!  This soup is perfect in so many ways.   It's relatively quick, very easy and can help use up those bunches of broccoli you bought, forgot about and recently unearthed from the bottom drawer of the fridge (not that you would ever do that) - the ones that aren't quite prime anymore, but aren't bad enough to just toss out.  This meal is wonderful for those days when the weather is crappy, you're cold and tired and just want to snuggle on the couch under a blanket.  Days like yesterday.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Makes 8-10 good size servings and reheats well (for those of you not feeding a small army at every meal)

5-6 C broccoli florets - fresh or frozen
6 C chicken broth
1 1/2 C milk or half and half (I have used 2%, skim and a mix of skim and heavy cream - all have been delish, but the mix of milk and cream made a smoother texture, I thought)
1/2 C + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 - 3 C grated cheddar
A few slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 small onion, finely diced

Cook up the bacon to desired crispness.  Pour out all but a tiny bit of the grease.  Saute the onions in the leftover bacon grease while you work on the next step. Set the onions aside.

Steam broccoli (fresh or frozen), then chop however finely you like it.  If you want a super smooth soup, throw the broccoli in the blender and puree it.  I prefer to keep some of the texture, so I just rough chop it on my cutting board. Set aside.

Combine broth and milk in a large pan over medium high heat.  Slowly whisk in flour and cook, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness. I like to cook mine until it's about the thickness of unset pudding or melted ice cream.  Stir in broccoli and onions and reduce heat to low.

Cook about five minutes, then dump in the cheese.  Continue to cook until the cheese is completely melted and the soup is piping hot.  Season with salt and pepper as desired. 

Scoop out into bowls and top with sliced green onion and crumbled bacon.  Serve with biscuits or crusty bread of your choice.  Eat and nearly die of bliss.

Recipe originally found at Lynn's Kitchen Adventures website, but changed in a few ways to suit our family.