Friday, March 2, 2018

Broccoli cheddar soup with zucchini and carrot...


My neighbor gave me a zucchini squash the other day.  It's been sitting on the counter looking at me ever since. I considered sauteing it with some onion and butter, but didn't.  I decided to incorporate it into some broccoli cheddar soup. I ran into a similar recipe online and tweaked it for what I had on hand. I used a food processor to grate the vegetables, but of course you can use a hand grater just as well.  This is a winner.  

SOUP

2 Tablespoons butter
Small to medium zucchini squash, grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 cloves (or more) garlic, minced
1/2 onion, grated
1 pound frozen broccoli florets (or you can use fresh, of course)
3 cups chicken stock (or some bone broth - whatever you like)
2 more Tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup white flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter.  Add the onion, carrot and zucchini and saute until tender, stirring constantly.  Then add the garlic and cook just a little longer.

Pour in the broth and add the broccoli florets.  Simmer just until the broccoli is tender.

While it is simmering, in a skillet, melt the butter, add the flour and stir that around well and then gradually add the milk and cream, whisking smooth.  When it thickens, add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and incorporated.

Pour the cheese sauce into the other pot and stir well.  Salt to taste.  Add some pepper if you like.

This  may be frozen. 

5 comments:

  1. Looks really good, I like the idea of the zucchini in there.

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    1. Thank you. Yes, it's a good way to use zucchini!

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  2. The soup looks good. My youngest has been asking for broccoli soup but I've had trouble findings recipe I liked.

    So here is a question for you to clarify. You say chicken stock or bone broth. I keep seeing women on blogs, oh I made bone broth. OK. Is this something new? I have never heard talk of bone broth 2 or so years ago. Is there another way to make beef broth or chicken or turkey broth without using the bones? And how is stock different from broth? To me the words are interchangeable. No?

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    1. Bone broth has been around, probably, from the time people started eating animals... Do you have a pressure cooker? It can be made so much faster in a pressure cooker, but certainly works fine on a stovetop too. Properly made bone broth is full of minerals and good things for your body. Here is how I would make it... I save up bones from meat that I cook in the freezer until I have "enough" - that just depends on how big a pot you want to use. Put the bones in the pot. Cover with water. Add a good splash of vinegar, maybe 1/4 cup per gallon. Bring it to a boil and then cover and turn down the heat and simmer, at least overnight and up to 24 hours. If you are using chicken bones, you can tell it is "done" when you can easily crush the end of a leg bone with your fingers. If I had beef soup bones (which I sometimes buy) I would go for the 24 hours. When the time is up, let it cool for a while and then strain it. You can refrigerate it and take off the fat on top, if you wish, but I usually just leave that on and put it in wide mouth canning jars (leave some headspace) put on lids and freeze it to use later. Now, STOCK, is when I might take some chicken or other meat, put that in a pot and add an onion, a carrot and some celery and cover with water, then simmer until the meat is very tender. use the meat for something else and strain off the stock. At least, I think that is what all this means. I don't buy broths or stocks. I try to keep a supply in the freezer from my normal cooking. Most of the time I don't even label them. Bone broth will gel when cold, which shows that it has a lot of gelatin in it. That's supposed to be very good for you. I do not know if you would like this recipe, but it was a great way to use up the zucchini I had. :)

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    2. p.s. The reason I asked about the pressure cooker is because you can make the bone broth in there, cooking it at pressure for only 1 hour!!! Then let the pressure come down naturally. That is how I do it now.

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