Broccoli Cheese Blender Soup

Broccoli: Something my kids will barely touch UNLESS there is soup or cheese involved. Guess what? This broccoli cheese soup caused them to unhinge their jaws like pythons and throw in bowl after bowl! It was really weird and fascinating. I wish I would have gotten a photo, but it all happened so quickly.

You've probably heard broccoli is a superfood. It's jammed with all sorts of healthy things: Vitamins C, A, K, folate, beta carotene, calcium, polyphenols. I won't bore you with details and particulars (mostly because I'm too lazy). You know it's good for you, so eat it up.

I wanted a healthy soup recipe that I could whip together in about a half-hour, so I experimented with my blender and this worked out beautifully. It's fast, easy, uses up random leftover veggie platter tidbits, and doesn't leave a ton of dishes for me to wash afterwards. (I actually made someone else wash them but, really, there weren't a lot).

I'm going to keep this as short and simple as possible. You're welcome.

You'll need:

Lots of broccoli, steamed soft. I used two 16 oz organic "steamer bags" from Costco (they come in a 4-pack).

A 32 oz box of organic chicken stock.

Extra virgin olive oil, or unrefined coconut oil. About two tablespoons.

Veggie platter-type tidbits. I used chopped bell peppers, chopped rainbow carrots, random colors of cherry tomatoes, bits of daikon radish. Really, you could throw any leftover veggies in there. I threw those in to use them up and add nutritional value. You could even not add veggie tidbits, and the soup would be just fine. Have it your way.

Chopped onions, about a cup.

Sea salt.

Freshly ground (it makes a difference) black pepper.

Garlic powder. Fresh would work if you wanted to blend it in with the onions. I was out of fresh.

About 1.5 cups of cheese, diced. I used sharp cheddar and swiss.

Put the olive oil in your soup pot and turn the heat on medium-low.

Put the chopped onions in the blender with enough chicken stock to almost cover them. Blend until smooth. Add to soup pot.

Put one bag of steamed broccoli in the blender. Add enough chicken stock to halfway cover the broccoli. Blend until smooth. Add to soup pot. Do this again with second bag of broccoli.

Put chopped bell peppers in the blender. (I should mention, don't bother rinsing the blender in between steps. You'd just be washing nutrients down the sink). Add some stock. Blend until smooth. Add to pot.

Put chopped carrots and other random veggies in the blender,, and don't be alarmed if it looks like hork. You rationally know it's carrots. Add stock. Blend until smooth. Stick in pot. There seems to be a pattern forming here.

When you stir those blended carrots in, it will look weird and beautiful, very sci-fi. Appreciate this.

Add some salt, maybe 1/2 teaspoon. You can always add more later if you like things salty. Add the same amount of pepper. Add about a teaspoon of garlic powder. Stir this all into your sci-fi soup to ruin the beautiful swirls. Sheesh.

Throw your diced cheese in the blender. Cover with stock. Blend until nearly smooth. Add to pot.

Stir in whatever stock you have left. Simmer your soup until it's steamy, stirring here and there just for the helluvit.

YOU DID IT!! Wasn't that easy?

Now serve it up all pretty-like, and please get a video if anyone unhinges their jaw.

Thanks for reading! I'm considering more blender experiments, and will post the best results :)