Eat Panera at home! Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Winter is in the air! We are sitting at -1 degrees and although there is no snow on the ground, (thank goodness!) I am enjoying just thinking about getting this apartment ready for Christmas and cozying up on the couch with a blanket, hot chocolate, and a movie! Normally, I refuse to even think Christmas until after American Thanksgiving. However, seeing as I will be working the evening of Thanksgiving, and the Christmas markets start here next week, I feel ready to just get into the Christmas spirit. Don't feel sorry for me, I got to partake in Canadian Thanksgiving in October and we will be having our turkey dinner again this year with the Scherenberg's and Horst and Gale the first week of December.

For most people, this is perfect soup season. I didn't used to be a big soup fan, I never liked the way the veggies got so soggy and always thought the only liquids that I was supposed to consume warm were beverages. When we had tomato soup and grilled cheese growing up, I used to put about an inch of soup in my bowl, just enough to dip the grilled cheese into.

That's all changing as I am finding soups, thanks to Pinterest, usually, that make my taste buds excite. A while ago, I stumbled upon Budget Savvy Diva's copycat Panera Bread's broccoli cheddar soup. Now, I can't say I have ever even ordered soup at Panera Bread, but I've never heard bad things about the soup, or any of their food for that matter.

This soup was absolutely delicious! We dipped some garlic bread into it for added yumminess. Give it a try yourself when you need to heat up on a cold day. You can find the original recipe here, as I tweaked some things in ours. I doubled the recipe when I made it, it's always nice to have some to freeze! Kev actually preferred it frozen and reheated.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. whole milk
2 c. chicken broth
1 head fresh broccoli (florets only, chopped small)
1 c. thickly grated carrots
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Saute onions in a bit of butter, set aside.
2. Melt butter in pot, add flour, stir and cook for 3 min.
3. Add milk and chicken broth, slowly, stirring the whole time.
4. Bring to a boil, stirring, then simmer on low for 20 minutes.
5. Add broccoli, carrots, and onions, simmer for 25.
6. Mix in salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
7. Heat soup over low and mix in cheese until melted.
8. Serve! Add a little cheese on top for good looks and extra cheesiness. :)

If you haven't noticed, there is a new page tab at the top of the blog. It's a quick view of all the places this hockey lifestyle has taken us so far. Happy Friday! Tschüss!