This is our favorite soup to get when we go to Panera Bread. It’s so good, I wanted to try and make it at home. I found a few copycat recipes that I adapted into a lower calorie recipe of this delicious soup. All I need to do now is start making some bread bowls for these soups.
Yield: Serves 4
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 medium onion, diced small
2 cups matchstick cut carrots
2 heads of broccoli, just the florets cut off
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups milk
4 cups or 16 oz cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
salt and fresh cracked pepper (go a little heavy on the pepper)
1. Add carrots and broccoli to a saucepan. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are very tender, about 15 – 20 minutes.
2. In a large soup pot, add butter and onion. Add salt and pepper. Saute over low heat until onions are tender. Add flour and cook for 2 -3 minutes. Add milk and whisk constantly until mixture starts to come to a boil. Then add chicken stock and vegetables. Add nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Then remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Don’t bring to a boil again because it may separate.
