Chicken Broccoli Cheese Soup

Wanna get this on the blog before I forget how I did it, because it's just THAT good.

Tonight I threw together dinner real quick--I've been sick all week, and now that I'm starting to feel better, my husband is sick as all get out. :( So, soup was definitely on the menu!

I'd been craving broccoli cheese soup all week, but was too sick to go out to dinner, and the deli at the market didn't have any...and yeah, canned stuff is not good to eat by itself. LMBO! Not sure why I didn't think to just make it for myself sooner....I mean, I had all the ingredients and everything on hand....likely because I was sick, though.

I just threw this together with no real plan other than to reach broccoli cheese soup status by suppertime, so there are no photos...sorry!

Here are the ingredients I used, though:

1 small onion, chopped fine

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs, or leftover rotisserie chicken or or or or....I won't judge ya)

1 1/2 pounds of frozen broccoli florets (You can use pieces if you'd like, or even a mix of broccoli and cauliflower would work)

1 lb cheddar cheese, shredded

1/3 lb provolone (I ordered some from the deli the other night for sandwiches, and it was cut WAY too thick for sandwiches....so I wanted to use it up...you don't really HAVE to use provolone if you don't have it on hand)

4 cups of milk

4 cups of hot water (you could absolutely use stock if you've got it on hand....I haven't been shopping all week cuz I've been sick, so water it was tonight!)

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp oil

Tabasco sauce to taste (I think I used like 10-12 dashes for a 5 qt. pot of soup? I didn't count....)

1 packet of instant mashed potatoes--The packet I had made 2 cups of prepared mashed potatoes. I know this sounds REALLY weird, but it'll help thicken it up. You don't have to use the whole packet if you don't want to...stir it in a bit at a time, wait a few mins and see how it thickens up before adding more, etc.

Old bay, fresh cracked black pepper, etc. to taste (I used about 2 tbsp of Old Bay and about 30 cranks of really coarsely ground black pepper.)

That's really it. :)



Start by putting the oil into a pan to heat up over medium heat. Chop up the onion and garlic, throw it in the oil. Cut up the chicken into bite size pieces (I did mine in about 1/2" x 1/2" cubes this time) and toss it in. Dump in the broccoli, cover and let cook for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the milk and water/stock, season to your liking with Old Bay, Tabasco and black pepper. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and cover. Cook till the broccoli is tender to your liking.

Meanwhile, shred up the cheddar cheese. Mix the flour with the cheddar so it doesn't get clumpy when you add it to your soup. Break the provolone into bits.

Once the broccoli is tender to your liking, add the provolone, mixing after each slice. Once the provolone is all incorporated, add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring to melt and combine after each addition, until the cheddar is all in the pot.

Bring it back to a simmer, and add the instant potatoes to desired thickness.

Voila! Big pot o' Chicken-Broccoli-Cheese Soup!