Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

I'm slightly obsessed with Quiznos. That's probably an inaccurate statement these days since the closest one to me is in Cincinnati. And there are so many restaurants in Cincinnati, there's no way we're ever eating at Quiznos when we visit the city. So I get my fix when I go to Oregon. My favorite things about Quiznos? 1. The Turkey Bacon Guacomole. -->Drool<-- 2. Their Raspberry Lemonade. 3. Their Broccoli Cheese soup!

It's thick. It's creamy. It's cheesy. It's packed throughout with chunks of broccoli and shreds of carrot. It's the epitome of broccoli cheese soup for me. Imagine my surprise when I sat down to try and copy-cat a recipe that it was super easy. Seriously, there was hardly any effort put into this soup. I used a bag of frozen broccoli cuts and pre-shredded carrot. The only prep I had to do was chop an onion. Not only that, but the whole she-bang took about 30 minutes. I served this warm french bread, thus guaranteeing the removal of every last drop of soup from the bowl.

This instantly became a fall and winter classic in this house!

Ingredients (serves 4-5):

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups cooked broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrot, shredded
2 cups cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot. When hot, add onion. Saute 4-5 minutes, or until tender. Add butter to the pot, stir 1-2 minutes, or until butter is melted.
2. Add flour to the pot. Stir flour mixture around 1-2 minutes (just to cook some of the flour flavor out). Constantly whisking, slowly add the milk to the pot, about 1/2 cup at a time. Once the milk is incorporated, add chicken broth. Whisk until chicken broth is completely incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
3. Add the broccoli and carrot to the pot, cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until broccoli is heated. Add cheese to the pot, stir constantly until the cheese melts and completely incorporates.
4. Using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender, pulse the soup a couple of times to give it a chunky texture. Add salt to taste.
5. Serve immediately!

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything.