1 Favorite Broccoli Soup Recipe

Soup is one of my favorite foods, it combines thriftiness with healthful eating. When making soups you can always use leftovers to make them. Generally if I use meat in my soup I will use leftover chicken, beef, or pork. Also I have found that my sons actually love soup, and even when I use vegetable they don't usually eat raw or steamed, they will enjoy it in soup. Aside from the time it sits to cook, soup is very easy to make. Add these all up and soup is make a fantastic meal, at least in my opinion.

A while ago I started collecting recipes online that I wanted to make, many of them were soup recipes. I have cooked all of them, a few many many times. I would have to say that this broccoli soup recipe really stands out in my mind. While soup makes a great meal, it can also be an appetizer or a snack if it is healthy, light, and low in calories. I have been making this recipe with broccoli from my garden. This soup recipe does not include the mare traditional cheese. The cheese will make it more heavy and caloric. I am glad I printed and saved this one because it is longer available on the website I originally found it on. I have also made a couple of modifications to it over time.

Ingredients:
2 cups water
4 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup carrots
1/2 cup onion
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions:
I use a dutch oven to do this but any regular soup pot will do, bring the 2 cups water to a boil. Add the celery carrots, and broccoli and boil for a few minutes. Then strain then in a colander and set aside. Put butter in the soup pot or dutch oven and melt it, add the onions and saute then till soft. While that is happening place the vegetable you set aside into a blender, you doing necessarily want a puree so use a setting that leaves it in little bits. To the sauteed onion and butter add the flour till you get a paste, then add broth and milk stirring constantly. Bring that to a boil, then add the vegetables and remaining ingredients. Lower the heat cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Then your are done! A couple of other suggestions would be to sprinkle parmesan cheese on it or add a tablespoon of sausage to it. But at this point it is a meal, not a lighter appetizer or snack. Though it tastes great without either. The image is not mine, so when I make it again this weekend I will replace it with my own.