Broccoli and Cheese Soup
From Cooking Light

Processed cheese melts beautifully, giving this soup a smooth texture and mild flavor. (From Laurie: I used WW flour instead of all purpose, and because the Velveeta Light has sugar and other things in it, I used regular Velveeta and then used 1% milk instead of 2% to cut the fat from the Velveeta. Turned out amazing!)

Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets (Or two heads, chopped fine) [I use two packages for extra taste, nutrients, and fiber]
2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk [I used 1% milk so I could use full-fat Velveeta]
1/3 cup all-purpose flour [use WW flour]
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light) [I used full-fat, as there was sugar in the light]

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.

Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

CALORIES 203 (28% from fat); FAT 6.3g (satfat 4g, monofat 1.8g, polyfat 0.4g); PROTEIN 15.6g; CARBOHYDRATE 21.7g; FIBER 2.9g; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; IRON 1.2mg; SODIUM 897mg; CALCIUM 385mg;
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

OK Laurie, I finally tried the soup that you've been raving about and I have to tell you.....IT ROCKS! I loved it and can't wait to go home for lunch to have more. Cream of Broccoli is my favorite soup (along with New England Clam Chowder) so I am a big critic. This is definitely a keeper and will be made several more times now that it's getting a little chilly here in CA (probably warm to most of you but I'm a wimpy California girl!). Thanks for posting this!

I made this yesterday & it turned out fantastic!

I only did a few things different:

1. I left the soup on low heat while adding the cheese a little at a time, stirring constantly, rather than removing it from the heat.

2. I steamed a few fresh broccoli florets, and chopped them up. After I had pureed the soup and put it back in the pan, I tossed in the steamed florets, having chunks of broccoli was wonderful

3. The only other thing was I used FF Milk, rather than 1 or 2 % and it still turned out lovely

Thanks Laurie for posting this!!

I made this last night too. I also left it on low but I whisked the cheese in and it melted better than usual. I also like it chunky so I don't even put it in the food processor any more.

I just made this again this week and I still love it. So glad you all do too! I like the chunks of broccoli idea as well...I'll have to try that! I read somewhere that when you boil vegetables in water, most of the vitamins and nutrients are leached into the water and you lose them. I'm starting to either steam or cook all my veggies in the micro!

Great idea about cooking it on low, too.

CJ, I'm a California Girl, born and bred until I moved out here to the Northern Wilderness. I remember one night before I moved here when it was 50 out and we were dying from the cold. I couldn't figure out how I would ever get used to temperatures below 0! I did, though. Now, when it's 50 in the spring, I'm wearing shorts.

I made this last night and it is easy and yummy! I did think it was missing a little something...maybe because the cheese is so mild. Next time I might use sharper cheese (I am just a sharp cheese girl!!!). I also let it reduce for 10 minutes instead of 5 because I am paranoid about not having it thick enough, LOL! I didn't food process it at all, I like the chunks...all in all very yummy and a great winter soup! (OK, it was 80 degrees yesterday, but who's checking?)

Jessie

Oh... my... god!!! This is amazing!!! Seriously, one of the best things to come out of my kitchen.
I made some changes, but small:

I didn't have any onions or garlic, so I used the power variety
I used less chicken broth and more water (two cubes/3 cups water)
I used the Kraft Free cheese
I put it in the food processor

It was soooo good! Thank you!!!

Can you make this without the flour for P1???

Guess so... it just makes it thick. If your okay with thiner soup then give it a shot. Maybe substitute rice, buckwheat, or oat flour, if that's allowed.

Could this be frozen for lunches????

I always freeze my leftover soup to have for lunch later. This freezes well. It does change the look a little (probably because of the milk) but the flavor is just as good.

I made this in the crock pot - just dumped in all the ingredients (including the cheese! But you could probably wait and add that at the end). The cheese did separate a bit near the end but it all blended together when I stuck the immersion blender in.

I started with two fresh broccoli crowns, chopped up pretty small and raw diced onions. I added the flour at the end (mixed in with some of the soup) but I probably didn't even need it. I think the total cooking time was like 6 hours on high, but it seems like a pretty forgiving recipe.

It worked great!

Didn't freeze it, but ate it for a few days, heated up from the refrigerator.

Yay, crock pot. I am loving it. Picked it up for $3 at a garage sale.

Thank you for the crock pot instructions...I'm in love with mine too.

Sounds delicious! I've got a friend coming for lunch on Saturday, and I plan to make it then.

OK so I really wanted to try this and had it printed out at home, but forgot that it was Ph2 until I was halfway into making it (I'm on Ph1 right now) so instead of flour, I substituted 4 oz LF cream cheese to help thicken it a little. Otherwise, skim milk instead of 2% and I LOVE IT!!!!

YUMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!