You'll fall in love with this divine, satisfying soup. It's loaded with three different cheeses, fresh veggies, crispy bacon and milk.
2 bunches fresh broccoli
3 T. vegetable oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T. flour
1 1/2 c. 2% milk
1 1/2 c. vegetable stock
6 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese block, freshly grated (not packaged shredded)
4 oz. Swiss block, freshly grated (not packaged shredded)
6 oz. Velveeta cheese, chopped into 1 inch cubes
5 cooked, crispy bacon slices, chopped
salt, to taste
freshly cracked peppercorn, to taste
2 t. freshly chopped parsley or green onions, for garnish
Steam broccoli until soft. Mash about half of the broccoli with a fork; set aside.
In a medium pot, heat up the oil on medium heat. Add chopped onion and shredded carrot; saute until onion is transparent. Add minced garlic; stir; saute until fragrant. Sprinkle on flour; stir until veggies are coated with flour.
Slowly pour in the milk and veggie stock, stirring constantly.
Heat soup through on medium heat.
Once it starts to boil, start adding the cheeses. Grate the Cheddar and Swiss cheeses into the pot, stir slowly until melted. (It is recommended to use block cheese and grate it yourself- it will melt much better. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in cornstarch while packaged, so it's a little harder to melt.)
Chop the Velveeta cheese into 1 inch cubes; add to the pot; stir slowly and constantly until the cheese has melted.
Stir in chopped bacon.
Season with salt and cracked peppercorns, to taste. (Velveeta cheese, bacon and other cheeses have salt in them, so don't add salt until those ingredients have been added.)
Stir in the steamed broccoli. Lower heat to medium-low; cover; cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve, garnished with fresh parsley.
4 servings.