Broccoli, Cheese, and Potato Soup (394 calories, 23 carbs)

kmm7309

**disclaimer.... the original recipe is in regular text, and my modifications are bolded. The original recipe, including a few ingredients I've left out, is available at http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/12/broccoli-cheese-and-potato-soup.html, and I do not own this website. My modifications increased the calorie content, but were necessary because I don't have a food processor, immersion blender, or food chopper.

Ingredients:

1 carrot, chopped (as tiny as possible)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter (I doubled this amount to coat the carrots better)
2 tbsp flour
2 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth (I used the whole container)
1 cup fat free milk (I used 1%)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced small (as small as you can)
salt and fresh pepper
4 cups (about 2 heads) broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces (as small as you can)
1-1/2 cups 2% shredded sharp cheddar
2 slices 2% American cheese
1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Directions:
Chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic in a chopper or mini food processor.
In a large soup pot, melt butter. Add carrots and garlic and sauté on low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add flour, salt and pepper to the pot and stir until smooth. (flour doesn't really stir well until after the broth is added)
Add chicken broth, milk and potatoes and set heat to high until it comes to a boil, then cover and cook on low until potatoes are soft, about 10-15 minutes. (I extra cooked it, more like 20 minutes and lots of stirring).
Add broccoli florets, parmesan cheese, and stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered until broccoli is cooked, about 5 minutes. Add cheddar and American cheese, stir well and remove from heat. (I didn't add salt and pepper. Make sure broccoli is super soft. I forgot the parmesan cheese.)
Using an immersion blender, quickly blend part of the soup for a quick second or two. If you don't have an immersion blender, remove about 1-2 cups of potatoes and broccoli, place it in your chopper, then add it back to the soup. This helps thicken it a bit. (I didn't do any of this, so the soup is a little chunkier than it should be, but still simple and delicious.)

This should yield 4-8 bowls of soup. If you need to thicken it, add more flour, a little at a time.
It's a couple of servings of veggies. I think I added a little extra potato and broccoli too.
And I topped mine with sour cream and more shredded cheese, like you would top chili. So good! I included the sour cream and cheese topping in my calorie count!

These nutrition facts are based on 1/6 of a pot of soup. If you input the recipe for calorie counts, you can adjust the serving size.

(Per serving)
Calories: 394
Carbs: 23
Fat: 16
Protein: 29
Sodium: 1139

The broth and shredded cheese killed my sodium. I would recommend low-sodium broth and a low-sodium cheese source (if you can find one).

Tonya0605

I love broccoli, cheese and potatoes......thanks for posting

kmm7309

I added chicken to this recipe and forgot about it... the calories are actually about 300 per serving!! Whoops! (I wasn't impressed with it by the way, but it is a good thing to add for protein)