Carrot Broccoli Soup

For this Cooking Light 2008 recipe, we decided to mix it up a bit during the cooking process.

But just like the recipe, we began by chopping up some carrots, onion and celery and sauteing them in butter for a few minutes.


From there we started to deviate. We chose to skip adding the broccoli at this point because ours was previously steamed and then frozen, so we didn't want the vegetable overcooked. Instead, we added about 3 3/4 cups of milk, which is a cup more than what was called for. We also put in salt, thyme and pepper.

After bringing to a boil, reducing the heat and simmering for about 10 minutes, we added the flour-milk mixture to the pot.

Then we put in the broccoli and chose to add some cheese. We put in about 1 cup of reduced-fat cheddar, 1/2 cup of Monterrey and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Then we brought that all to a boil and let it thicken.


We topped each serving with some homemade croutons. The cheesiness helped the flavor profiles and the extra cup of milk helped, too, since our base was a bit thick at that point. It was definitely filling also, as we added a bit more vegetables than the recipe called for.