Warm Up With a Bowl of My Hearty Broccoli Soup!

The colder it becomes, the more you appreciate a hot bowl of homemade soup.  The recipe that I want to share with you is satisfying enough to serve as a simple meal along with a thick slice of French bread, a salad and a vegetable.   

My Hearty Broccoli Soup has a velvety cream base enriched with chopped ham, cheese, and lightly seasoned with nutmeg and parsley that is delicious and a sure way to warm the family up with its rich goodness.

This is the perfect soup to have on hand in the winter.   After that bone-chilling blast of Arctic weather we had just had last week, this is a great, easy recipe to make.  I do hope you try it sometime.  After all, we still have many more weeks of winter to go.  This soup can come in handy!

My Hearty Broccoli Soup

3 cups of milk
3 packages of frozen broccoli (10-oz. size)
1 cup of cooked ham, cooked in small pieces
1/2 pound of grated Cheddar cheese (any variety) or Swiss cheese
2 cups of chicken broth
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 cup of light cream or half-and-half
1/4 cup margarine (not spread) or butter
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of dried parsley flakes

Cook the broccoli in one half of the chicken broth.  Make sure to cover the broccoli while cooking.

Take the broccoli when tender off the heat and finely chop it.  Set aside.

Next, add the rest of the chicken broth, milk, cream, ham, nutmeg, parsley, and salt to your pot.

Bring those ingredients to a boil, then stir in the grated cheese, broccoli, margarine to melt and thoroughly combine.

ENJOY!

Recipe: Keep Warm With a Bowl of My Creamy Fresh Mushroom Soup!

Nothing can be finer to chase away the cold weather than a big hearty bowl of soup to warm you up.  Yesterday, I gave you my recipe to make bread sticks, which go beautifully with this soup. Today, I want to share my favorite recipe to make your own homemade mushroom soup that is simply out of this world.  Unlike what you find in a can, my soup is rich, velvety and loaded with lots of fresh mushrooms to make it substantial for more of a satisfying meal. 

Although you don't have to add dry sherry to it, a bit of this alcohol does seem to spark that fabulous flavor to new heights.  However, I have made this recipe without using sherry and substituted apple cider and it does taste wonderful as well.  Either option will result in a superior mushroom soup.

Be warned:  my delicious mushroom soup can be habit-forming! 

My Creamy Fresh Mushroom Soup

1 pound of fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup of margarine (not spread) or olive oil
1/4 cup of sifted flour
3 cups of half-and-half cream
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of dry sherry or apple cider
3 cups of milk
salt
pepper


Slice the caps of the mushrooms and chop the stems.

Saute in the melted margarine or olive oil until lightly browned.

Remove from the heat and stir in the flour until well coated.

Return to the heat and cook on low for about five minutes.

Slowly add the half-and-half and milk to the mushroom mixture.  Be sure to use a wire whisk and mix well.  Simmer this for about fifteen minutes, stirring frequently.

Combine the lightly beaten egg yolk with the sherry or cider and add to the thickened soup.  Season this big pot of soup with salt and pepper to your taste.  Cook an additional minute to blend through.