Broccoli Cheese Soup

Instructions

Prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking. In a dutch oven or medium soup pot, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add onion and carrots and saute until onions soften (5 minutes). Add 4 cups chicken broth, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp thyme. Bring to a boil then add broccoli and reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until broccoli is softened (10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of broccoli). Remove 2 cups of vegetables with a strainer and set aside. Blend remaining soup in the pot with an immersion blender or puree in batches in a blender. Blend until smooth or your desired consistency. In a separate small bowl, combine 1/2 cup cream with 3 Tbsp flour and whisk vigorously until smooth and no longer lumpy then blend in 1 tsp dijon. The mixture will be thick like frosting. Bring the blended soup back to a boil and whisk in the cream/flour mixture, whisking for 3 to 4 minutes until smooth and thickened. Remove the soup from the heat. Stir in the cheeses then stir in the reserved cooked vegetables. Season with salt to taste and serve right away. Garnish with more cheddar if desired.

• unsalted butter Notes: 2 Tbsp
• onion) Notes: 1 cup, finely diced (from 1 medium onion
• carrots Notes: 2 cups, (3 medium, sliced into thin rings)
• low sodium chicken broth Notes: 4 cups
• broccoli Notes: 4 cups, (2 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets)
• garlic powder Notes: 1 tsp
• sea salt Notes: 1 tsp, or to taste

  Optional
• black pepper Notes: 1/2 tsp
• thyme Notes: 1/4 tsp
• all-purpose flour Notes: 3 Tbsp
• heavy whipping cream Notes: 1/2 cup
• Dijon mustard Notes: 1 tsp
• sharp cheddar cheese Notes: 4 oz, shredded on the large holes of a box grater, plus more to garnish
• parmesan cheese shredded) Notes: 2/3 cup, (mild