Broccoli Cheddar and Potato Soup

I cant believe it’s already Wednesday! Is it just me, or does it seem like the week flies by these days?  There is less than 2 months left of college….my four years at Loyola literally flew by. It’s going to be sad to leave in May but I think I will be ready to move on to the next part of my life by that time.  Of course….I know I’ll look back on my college years and wish I could go back but I am so excited about what lies ahead so I will have no fear! haha

At the very beginning of June, Mary and I are moving to Manayunk (a section of Philadelphia) with each other.  I am so excited to be living with her. Plus, it will make writing this blog together even easier.  My friend Kaitlyn was worried about how it would work out with me living in Baltimore and her living back at home…it worked out just fine…but I am sure she will be happy to know that we will be blogging together again

I saw this recipe for Broccoli, Cheddar, and Potato soup on Jenna’s (Eat Live Run) blog and it sounded great by the way she described it and it looked delicious, too.  I know that a lot of people LOVE Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar soup…but I myself have never had it!   As I said before I made a family dinner last Sunday for a bunch of my friends.  I decided that I would make this for people who wanted this along side of the meal I planned to prepare and also for those who didnt want the meal (one of my friends is a vegetarian).  So I thought this would be perfect. It turned out great!  I asked my friend Allie what she thought of it and she commented that it was better than Panera’s (in her opinion anyway)!   My friend Megan thought it was really good but less “cheesy” than panera…she said this is not a bad or good thing…it’s just different.  I cant comment on this but all I know is that I lovedddd this soup! Most of the people at  dinner used it to dip their baguettes into (since we already had plenty of food)…it worked out pretty well for this purpose! nom nom nom….

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serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 T butter
• 1 bunch broccoli, chopped (about 12 oz florets)
• 1 russet potato
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 6 oz)
• 2 T all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 slices bacon cooked bacon, crumbled (to top…I did not do this)

Directions

1. Blanch your broccoli by placing it in boiling water for 30 seconds. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. In a large dutch oven, melt the butter. Peel and chop the potato into small one inch dice. Saute both the potato and the onion in the butter for about six minutes, or until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Then, add the dry mustard, cayenne and salt. Toss to coat.
3. Add the flour and stir well. Pour in the broth and add back in the broccoli florets. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the potato is tender. Slowly pour in the milk and add the cheese, stirring to melt.
4. Carefully pour the hot soup into a blender and process for 10 seconds, or just until slightly smooth with just a few chunks. Pour soup back into the pot and keep warm until serving.

Serve with crumbled bacon on top (optional).

Question 1: What is your favorite soup at Panera? What is your favorite thing to order at Panera?

Question 2:  What is your favorite soup?

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Tagged as: broccoli cheddar potato soup, eatliverun, manayunk, panera broccoli cheddar soup