Tasty Tuesday Recipe: Cream of Broccoli Soup (SUPER EASY and transfers to Crock Pot)

Since Mother Nature hasn't been able to make up her mind concerning the weather we go through spells of summer meals and winter meals in a matter of one week. For instance, on Sunday it was a very comfortable 70 degrees but today it was a nasty wet 45 degrees. I was freezing my tail off this morning and I wanted something warm, filling and comforting for dinner and Cream of Broccoli soup came to my mind. After researching several recipes online I found one that I liked but I made a few adjustments and it was everything I wanted it to be plus more! I was really impressed with how easy it was to prep and how delicious it tasted hours later! So, here is my recipe for a hearty Cream of Broccoli soup! I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as ours did. This filled up my entire crock pot so I am assuming it serves at least 12!


Ingredients

- One stick of butter (I used salted)
- One medium white onion, chopped
- (2) 32 Ounce containers of Chicken broth or 64 ounces chicken broth
- (2) 16 Ounce packages of frozen chopped broccoli florets
- 2 pounds of processed cheese food loaf (I used the WalMart brand), cubed 
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 2/3 cup of cornstarch
- 1 cup of water (I substituted with chicken broth) -- Save this for Step #3!!! 

Directions

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook chopped onion in butter until softened. Stir in broccoli florets and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 - 15 minutes. Once the broccoli is tender you can leave the pot as is with large florets or use a hand mixer to puree them in the pot so that you have smaller pieces. This can also be done in a blender if you don't have a hand mixer. 

2. Reduce heat, and stir in your cheese cubes until they are completely melted. Mix in your milk, heavy cream and garlic powder. Stir all ingredients until they are well mixed. 

3. In a separate bowl add the 2/3 cup of cornstarch with 1 cup of water of chicken broth. Stir well, making sure it is not clumpy. Slowly add this mixture to the crock pot while stirring at the same time and this will thicken your soup instantly.

4. Transfer soup to your crock pot and set to "Low" and let cook at least 4 hours. You can top with shredded cheese or bacon for added flavor. 


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