Morgan packing soup-to-go for lunch at school.
One of the things I appreciate about Morgan is that she tells me what she wants when it comes to food. Sometimes I don’t understand, but I try! About a week or so ago, she texted me: “I want chili dogs. But not with the chili you make now. I want it the way you used to make it. Before you became a famous cook.”
Sometimes she’s insulting!
I had to ask her what that meant and she explained that she wanted it with canned beans. I don’t know WHY that makes it better, but I made her some chili dogs with canned beans anyway. I live to please.
She also loves soups, and this is one that she’s been requesting lately. It’s her favorite. I make it with Velveeta, but you can use any type of cheese you like. Remember, I make it for Morgan.
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How to make Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Soup:
4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced
10 ounces chopped broccoli
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
ground black pepper (LOTS)
6 cups milk
8 – 12 ounces Velveeta (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic salt (or to taste)
1 – 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Boil the diced potatoes till soft, drain. While boiling the potatoes, I go ahead and put the frozen chopped broccoli in a medium-size slow cooker on High and start defrosting it right in the crock.
In a large skillet, melt butter. Add flour and stir to make a roux. I start adding pepper now. Probably altogether, I use about a tablespoon of pepper, but I add it as I go, testing. Start adding the milk, a cup at a time, and stirring to make a smooth sauce. I add the first four cups in the skillet and bring it to a simmer to thicken, adding the cheese to melt. (I go with 12 ounces. You can use 8 ounces. Or 4. Or none. This soup is good without cheese at all, but Morgan wants it cheesy.) Once the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened, remove the skillet from the heat.
Add the potatoes to the slow cooker along with the sauce. Add two more cups of milk along with the garlic salt and crushed red pepper. (We like spicy. You can leave this out or reduce it if you don’t.) Season to taste. Slow cook on High until everything is piping hot then keep on Low until ready to serve.
You can serve this straight as a soup, but I always serve it over rice. It could also be served over pasta. For a heartier soup, you can add sliced kielbasa, chicken, shrimp, or whatever you like! This is a very versatile soup, and delicious!
Which is why it’s Morgan’s favorite!
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msjamie says:
I think I know what she means with the chili dogs. For me it’s mac & cheese. I’ll take Kraft in a box any day over home made. Maybe because that’s what I ate growing up!
On January 16, 2014 at 8:51 am
gaea303 says:
This soup sounds great! Question: Some friends and I are going to rent a mountain cabin for a weekend soon and I’m thinking of bringing this for dinner one night…if I mix it up ahead of time and cook it on the stove very briefly, then put it in the fridge for a day or two, and then bring it to the cabin and finish cooking it in the crockpot for a few hours, do you think that would still work well? Or would it possibly separate and look funny? Any suggestions from anyone?
On January 16, 2014 at 11:47 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
It keeps fine! When it’s just me and Morgan, we have it for leftovers in the fridge for a few days and it’s always just as good. Sometimes I heat it back up in the crock pot, sometimes we just microwave a bowl. If you’re not going to eat it right away, you don’t have to cook it at all after putting the mixture together, just wait till you’re ready to serve it then cook it.
On January 16, 2014 at 11:51 am
sherlockfan says:
Sounded good till I got to the Velveeta part. Think it would work with real cheese? I never buy processed food anymore.
On January 16, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
You can use any other kind of cheese–swiss, cheddar, whatever you like. I use Velveeta because it’s what Morgan likes.
On January 16, 2014 at 12:06 pm
JudyT says:
This looks yummy! I’m with Morgan on it being a favorite.
On January 16, 2014 at 12:21 pm
whaledancer says:
I make a similar soup, only I add crumbled cooked bacon to mine. Sometimes I make it with leeks instead of broccoli.
On January 16, 2014 at 4:04 pm
yvonnem says:
Mmmmm…I’d pour that over a big ol’ hunk of cornbread:)
On January 16, 2014 at 4:43 pm
Joell says:
:happyflower:
This soup sound so yummy, I like that you can use what ever cheese you like or a mixture there of. I was impressed to know that Velveeta is made with real cheese, but just processed into a smooth loaf, we always keep some in the house. This soup would be good on top of a nice big baked potato—thank you for sharing your recipe.
On January 18, 2014 at 7:04 am
Glenda says:
I made this for lunch today and it is truly delicious. I used white American cheese, not quite as much as called for but it was cheesy enough for us. I just cooked it on top of my gas range and transferred it to my simmer burner to finish. Loved it!
On January 19, 2014 at 4:07 pm
barefeet3kids says:
I will have to try this. If you want to make this for Morgan and use healthy Velveeta our local station aired a homemade velveeta recipe recently. I made it and it is the same in texture and really close in taste.
https://www.wcsh6.com/life/programming/local/207/article/267827/140/Malcolm-Bedells-Homemade-American-Cheese
Check it out.
Jackie
On January 19, 2014 at 6:40 pm