Broccoli Cheese Soup & Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

This soup was really good, nice and cheesy and very filling along with the biscuits. We all liked it, even the non-soup-lover of the household. It was also fairly easy so that was nice as well.

Rachel's Broccoli Cheese Soup

written by Rachel L - http://cookingformyfamily.blogspot.com

1 small onion, diced

12 oz frozen broccoli florets (or equivalent in fresh)

1 cup carrots, finely diced or use matchstick carrots

1 pint half & half (about 2 cups)

1 can chicken broth (about 2 cups)

1/2 stick + 1 tbl sp butter (split)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (about 2 cups, I like a mix of sharp and mild here)
pinch of salt and pepper

First, melt the one tablespoon of butter in a skillet. Add the onions and sautee until they are soft and translucent, but not brown. Set aside. In your soup pot melt the 1/2 stick of butter on low heat. Once it is heated, add the 1/4 cup of flour and wisk together until all of the flour is combined and there aren't any lumps. Then, slowly add the half & half and keep wisking. Turn the heat up slightly and wisk for a minute or two. Then add the chicken broth and wisk together. You can turn this up a little more if you like. Let this simmer together for about 10-15 minutes, or until it starts to thicken up, but keep stirring. Then add all of your vegetables (including the onion), salt, and pepper to the pot. Keep stirring frequently but let the veggies get soft, probably around 20 minutes, but let them go until they aren't crunchy anymore. Next, you want to use your immersion blender to blend everything smooth in the soup. If you do not have an immersion blender you can put your soup into a regular blender and then return it back to the pot. Please be careful not to burn yourself during this step! After the soup is nice and smooth, add the cheese and wait for it to melt while stirring. Enjoy!

And here is the recipe for the biscuits. I use a natural form of bisquick with none of the trans fats or anything in it. It's just a basic organic baking mix. I do find I need to add a little more milk with this though than the recipe notes.

Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits Copycat
Recipe #9494 (RecipeZaar)

2 cups Bisquick (my note: or you can use a homemade substitute)
2/3 cup milk (my note: I needed a little more)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (my note: I used about 1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix bisquick, milk and cheese until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter or margarine and garlic powder. Brush mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.