Monday, January 8, 2018

Broccoli Cheddar Soup and flowers that bloom!

My Christmas cactus bloomed on Christmas day. It was loaded with buds and it is at it’s peak right now. I placed my Poinsettia on the table in front of the cactus and had all kinds of beautiful color for the holidays.

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And I made the best Broccoli Cheddar soup! I started with the recipe on all recipes HERE….and then I modified it some.

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This is my version….

Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup

  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 stalk celery chopped
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh broccoli
  • 6  baby carrots chopped

          2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

          and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion, garlic and celery in hot butter until translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
  2. Whisk 1/4 cup melted butter and flour together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
  3. Gradually pour milk into flour mixture while whisking constantly. Stir chicken stock into milk mixture. Simmer  20 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots, sauteed onion, garlic and celery; simmer another 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
  4. Stir 2 cups Cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts. Season with black pepper. Spoon it into your bowl and top with the remaining shredded cheese. 

It sure makes a nutritious soup for these winter days!

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(do you think I have enough butter on my toast? Don’t answer that…it’s a rhetorical question! hahaha)

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE .

40 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello, your Cactus blooms and poinsettia are beautiful. Your broccoli cheddar soup looks delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I will try it soon.

Happy Monday, enjoy your day and new week!

NanaDiana said...

With all that butter you would think you were a Wisconsin girl. We all LOVE our butter here. Selling margarine or oleo was banned for years in this state and restaurants here were not allowed to serve it either.

Your soups sounds delicious. Hope you have a great week. xo Diana

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Your Christmas flowers are beautiful! I love that you added carrots to the soup. That sounds great!

Stacey said...

Isn't Broccoli Cheddar the best, Diane? I have never made it as well as others do so I just may give this a try. It sounds wonderful! :)

Maggie said...

What a wonderful post, flowers and food, just up my street! Going to make that soup soon and bake some Irish soda bread to eat with it, btw you can never put too much butter on toast!
Happy New Year and Happy MM from Normandy.

Jeanie said...

This would be a great soup day! Thanks for sharing what looks like a very tasty recipe.

And I bow down to you and your beautiful flowers. Definitely NOT my skill!

Anonymous said...

your flowers look amazing, my daughters did the same thing,, beautiful! I was going to make broccoli soup the other day,, now you have given the perfect recipe,, it looks wonderful,, and butter yummo!!

It's me said...

Mmmmmmmm...i like That soup.......love from me Ria x ❤️

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I love Broccoli Cheddar soup! Oh my that looks good. Trying to stay warm here!

podso said...

That looks delicious. I need to make it again sometime! Perfect for our current frigid weather!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

We are all familiar with poinsettias at this time of year, so I think that the beautiful bloom of your cactus is even more significant and very special. I hope that it lasts for quite a while. As for your cheddar soup, it will be on the menu shortly!

Ricki Treleaven said...

I just love Christmas cacti. And your soup looks perfect for winter. I love comforting soup! Thanks for posting the recipe!

Small City Scenes said...

Love the red with the Poinsettia and Christmas Cactus. Very Holidayish. MMmmmm soup---sure looks good and thanks for the recipe
MB

Sarah said...

Looks delicious and would be perfect for today. Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Imade your soup just now and its so good I had to come tell you!! My husband says thank you as well!!!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

I love a good soup - and all my christmas cactus bloomed for christmas, four different plants and colors - one of my favorite plants.

Linda Walker said...

Hi Diane,
your cactus is beautiful. Mine did not bloom but it is not very big yet! Your soup looks delicious! Lots of soup and comfort food eating going on here! It's been below 0 for days....brrrr! Hope all is well!
xx
Linda

Inger said...

The flowers are beautiful and reading the soup recipe made me hungry. Time for lunch, I think.

Happy@Home said...

Your Christmastime blooms are just gorgeous. The soup looks delicious. I am sitting here in a sweater and fleece jacket thinking it would taste particularly good right about now.
With all of the walking that you do, your butter quantity looks just fine.

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

As much as I love plants I've never had a Christmas cactus! Yours is beautiful, Diane. Soup is definitely on our menu this week. I made a big dutch oven of chicken soup today. Your broccoli soup looks yummy. ♥

Vee said...

Those plants are putting on quite a show! Your soup looks good and the toast looks just the way I like it!

Lowcarb team member said...

Hope you've saved some soup for me ! LOL!

Loved your mosaics.

All the best Jan

Forest Dream Weaver said...

Beautiful blooms and delicious soup....wonderful!
Thanks for the recipe.
Happy New year!
Ruby

Red Rose Alley said...

Your broccoli cheddar soup looks so good, Diane. It's raining here today and that would be perfect. And you can never have too much butter on your toast (kidding). Your Christmas cactus and Poinsettia look pretty on your table. Red is lovely at Christmas time.

~Sheri

happyone said...

mmmm sounds good. I love soup on cold winter days and we sure have had a lot of them so far this year.

Terri D said...

One of my favorite soups and I will save your recipe! You have just about enough butter on your toast!! LOL

Anonymous said...

Diane, oh my! That is my kind of supper! No, not too much butter! Thank you for posting the recipe too!

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Your Cactus and Poinsettia look so bright and pretty and how magical that it bloomed right on schedule! Your soup looks so delicious - thank you for sharing the recipe, and I am of the opinion that you can't have too much butter :) xx K

Angie said...

Diane - I never met a soup I didn't like, but some are better than others. I will be trying yours soon; one of my New Year's resolutions is to cook at least once a week! Jealous of the quantity of blooms on your cactus - what's your secret?

Lorrie said...

Lucky you to have poinsettias AND your Christmas cactus blooming at the same time. My cactus is very mixed up. I just noticed a few pink buds on it today, so I hope I get blossoms soon. It's not done well the past few years.
Too much butter - never! The soup sounds delicious!

Tomoko said...

Your cactus and poinsettia together on the table is perfect matching and so festive!
Oh my, I need the recipe in English version! I do not want too much butter though!
The soup looks delicious!Happy New Year,Diane.

carol l mckenna said...

Gorgeous Xmas cactus and great photos and what a yummy soup ~ Delish!

Happy Week to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Carla from The River said...

Your cactus is beautiful.
How many hour drive from Wisconsin to your house? Will I make it in time for soup? :-) Sounds yummy!!
Carla

Carrie @ Cottage Cozy said...

Hi, Diane - long time no see! lol Your soup looks amazingly delicious- thanks for sharing! Nice to see you!

Debby Ray said...

What time is lunch?? You have made one of my most favorite comfort foods and it looks delicious! Your cactus and poinsettia are so very pretty. I have a pink-ish cactus that is beginning to bloom for the second time...it bloomed around Halloween and is now full of bloom buds! Enjoy that yummy soup! HUGS!

Yesteryear Embroideries said...

Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe! The Christmas cactus is so beautiful!

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

Silly girl, of COURSE there is no such thing as too much butter! The soup looks wonderful - I love Broccoli Cheddar so thanks for sharing. We are in "full soup mode" here as it's probably the ONLY thing I like about this awful weather haha!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

My Christmas cactus bloomed in November, but I still love it...yours is gorgeous! Your soup looks delicious, Diane. Winter is perfect weather fro soup!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Love that recipe (for the toast) LOL! And the soup sounds great too. ;>).

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Oh such beautiful flowers - and the soup looks divine. And, no, one cannot have too much butter on ones bread. Happy soup days my dear.