Broccoli Cheddar Soup

With Fall in full swing here in the Pacific Northwest I wanted to make a dinner that just warmed me up from the inside and that my kids would like.
  My kids are a little out of the ordinary in that they would love to eat vegetables over anything else, even cookies.  And my daughter just adores soup so this is what I made (minus the bread bowl).

I found the recipe on Pinterest posted by a wonderful site, My Blessed Life.  She posts that it mimics the version Panera makes but I have never had their version, I just know that I have never made it successfully from scratch before this recipe.  Bottom of Form Looking for more about [term]?

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe - Panera Bread Knock Off

• 2 T. Butter, melted
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 4 c. half and half
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 1 lb. fresh broccoli*
• 2 cups, julienned carrots*
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 t. nutmeg*
• 16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Sauté onion in butter.  Set aside.   Whisk butter and flour over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.  Stir constantly and slowly add half and half.  Add chicken stock, still whisking.

Simmer 20 minutes.

Add broccoli, carrots and onion.  Cook over low heat until veggies are tender – about 20-25 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  The soup will have thickened by now.

Carefully transfer soup mixture to blender and puree.  Return soup to pot (or Crockpot) over low heat. Add cheese.  Stir until well blended.  Add nutmeg right before serving.

     Makes 8-10 serving

*Some changes I made were that I used a bag of frozen broccoli that I ran under cool water to thaw somewhat, I used my mini food processor to pulverize the carrots (who has time to Julienne?), ran out of nutmeg so I left it out, and I used my handheld Braun blender instead of hauling out the big blender and transferring the hot soup.  Since I was going to a playdate in the afternoon I just transferred the final product to my Crockpot and left it on warm till we returned home.

I loved this soup and so did my family!  I served it with toasted, buttered sourdough and a side of pasta for the kiddos since I wasn’t sure it would fill them up.