RECIPE: Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup
As usual, commentary in italics.

2 and 1/2 C finely chopped broccoli (peel any thick stems)
1/4 C butter
1/4 (to 1/2) C finely chopped onion
1/3 C flour
2 C milk
2 chicken bouillion cubes
1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1 C Velveeta (I did use Velveeta, but next time I might try cheddar.)

Cook broccoli until tender and reserve cooking liquid. Melt butter in a skillet. Saute onion in butter until translucent and tender, then blend in flour. When flour is incorporated, slowly stir in milk. Add bouillion cubes, nutmeg, salt and cheese. Cook and stir until thickened. When cheese is completely melted and soup is thick, allow it to boil for 1 minute. Add 1 C of the broccoli cooking liquid and stir well. Add broccoli and heat through. Optional: Use a blender, hand blender or food processor to make soup smooth.

1 - As you can see in the picture, I opted to not blend the soup.
2 - I garnished with shredded cheddar cheese.
3 - To round out the meal, I breaded chicken tenders with panko bread crumbs that I seasoned with various spices. I then sauteed the tenders in EVOO - that's Rachel Ray-speak for "extra virgin olive oil".
4 - The recipe came from a great cook book and all-around awesome kitchen resource, "The Practical Produce Cookbook." Yes, the recipe is called Cream of Broccoli Soup, even though it really amounts to Broccoli Cheese Soup. Call it whatever you want - I call it YUMMY.

As a side note, this soup was incredibly easy to make and tasted way better than anything in a can or from a restaurant. If I had used regular cheddar instead of Velveeta, it would have also been all-natural. After I made the chicken tenders, I was actually kinda bummed that I had used the processed (artificial) Velveeta.