Cheesy Cream of Broccoli Soup

It's very cold out in the desert and what better to make me all warm and fuzzy then a big bowl of Cheesy Cream of Broccoli Soup!

This is not you're regular bland Cream of Broccoli Soup, this one is kicked up with some spicy Slap Ya Mama Seasonings...don't forget the giveaway is still going strong (entry below).

The key to my soup is taking half the broccoli and cooking it, then puree it in a blender. Then I add the remaining broccoli so you have two different textures happening in this bowl of goodness.

If you're concerned about blending hot soup, allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before you blend it.

Also, blending hot soup can be very dangerous...how do I know this...umm....because a couple of years ago, I was blending soup and after it splattered all over my chest, I realized it was dangerous...dangerous and hot!

Thank God for aloe vera, I immediately in the midst of my pain, took aloe vera juice which I always keep in the fridge and poured it over my chest...I really think that's what stopped the scarring that should have happened.

I know you see I put my soup in a sourdough bowl, but really, that's only for pictures, it's not practical because it doesn't hold enough soup.

Here is what I do after the photos, I dump the soup out of the bread bowl, which I previously removed most of the bread in the bread bowl, don't throw away all that good bread.

I take that bread filling, place it in the bottom of my soup bowls, then I top it with soup, next, I take this bread bowl and cut it up into six wedges and pop that inside the soup bowl.

Everyone gets a big wedge of bread, plus extra bread at the bottom of the bowl...talking about delicious...!

Cheesy Cream of Broccoli Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 heads of broccoli
2 carrots
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sharp cheese, grated
1 cup jack cheese, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
3 cups chicken broth, low sodium
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon Slap Ya Mama Seasonings
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon chili powder

Directions:

Mix seasoning blend together and set aside. In a soup pot add butter and olive over medium heat. Add 1 chopped carrot, onion, celery, bell pepper, and 1 head of chopped broccoli, saute for 5 minutes, add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

Season with 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend, mix well. Add broth, milk, and cream to mixture, mix well, reduce heat to medium low and allow mixture to cook about 10 minutes are until carrots are tender.

Transfer mixture to a blend and puree. Be very careful blending hot foods, allow mixture to cool 10 minutes before blending if this is a concern.

Transfer mixture back to the pot, season with remaining seasonings. Add cheese in batches to pot and stir well to melt, grate remaining carrot and add to pot, dice remaining broccoli into florets and add to pot.

Cook over medium low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until broccoli is tender. If needed take cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water, add to soup to thicken and cook 5 more minutes.

Serve in sourdough bread bowls, topped with extra cheese.

Enjoy!