Bountiful Bliss

As I looked at my basket of goodness this week I realized that we had all of the makings of my Cheddar Broccoli Soup. Then while I was watching the weather forecast for this week, the weather man confirmed it with another rainy week. Cheddar Broccoli Soup is indeed what needed to be made with this weeks basket. This is one of the recipes in my upcoming cookbook and my son Kevin's favorite soup, so I hope that you love it as much as we do.

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

Let's get cooken'! Here is what you will need to get started. Notice that there are 4 things in this picture that came from our baskets this week... clearly it was meant to be.

6 Tbsp. Butter

*2 Medium Shallots, Diced Small

2 "Bountiful Celery Stalks", Diced Small

3 Medium "Bountiful Carrots", Diced Small

1/2 C. Flour

*1 1/2 C. Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes

*3 Cans Chicken Broth

3 C. Sharp Cheddar Cheese

2-3 C. Broccoli

Salt and Pepper to Taste

For Garnish: Chopped Chives

*Notes to the chef: You will notice in the picture that I have a shallot and a "Bountiful Onion." The original recipe calls for shallots, but you can use an onion in it's place. I do like the shallots better in this recipe but an onion works great as well. You might also notice in this picture that I have a quart of chicken stock instead of cans. It is just what I happened to have this week. But if you don't have the cans you will need about 45 oz. of chicken stalk. As for cheese when cooking with cheese the trick is the sharper the better! Bland cheese makes for bland soup. And one final thing. Don't worry about the Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes Recipe. I will post it at the bottom:) It is sooo good! I like to make this recipe when I have these babies leftover. It is always good to make extras when making these because there are a million delicious things that you can make with leftover mashed potatoes...that is if you if you have any.

Now let's really get cooken'! You want to start by melting 4 Tbsp. of Butter in your soup pot. Once your pan is hot start sauteing your veggies aka: Mirepoix as the French call it. Once they are soft add the remaining butter, as soon as that is melted add your flour and continue stirring and cooking for 1 minute. This is to make the roux to thicken your soup. When it is done it should look like this...

Once yours looks like this, add in the chicken broth and stir until it begins to thicken. Then add in your mashed potatoes and stir to combine. If you are using leftover mashed potatoes and they are cold you kind of need to break them into the soup. Next slowly add in your cheese until it is melted. Then add the broccoli to your liking, salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until the broccoli is tender. Garnish with chives. And last but not least, to make your dinner over the top good, serve this soup with a big chunk of sourdough bread on the side, sit back and enjoy the rainy night.

Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs. Potatoes

Heather's Seasoning Salt

6 Tbsp. Butter

*2 Tbsp. Milk

1/2 C. Sour Cream

1/4 Tsp. Ground Pepper

3/4-1 Tsp. Salt

1-2 Tbsp. Chopped Fresh Chive

Peel and dice your potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Then cover them with water in a large pot and sprinkle "Heather's Seasoning Salt" over the top and boil them for 30 -45 minutes or until fork tender. Drain your potatoes in a colander and place them back in the pot.( I like to mash them in the same pot... less dishes makes a happier cook:) Then add in all of the ingredients except the chives and with a had mixer mix them until they are light and fluffy. Then add in the chives and mix to combine.

*Just a few more notes for the Chef: If you are using red potatoes there is no need to peel them, they are great with the skins on. But they do become a bit starchy if you over mix them so be sure not to or you will have made plaster instead of light fluffy potatoes. One last tip. If you are making these for something special adding half and half or cream in place of the milk will really dress these up.