Yesterday, amidst the craziness of the holiday season, HandyMan and I decided to take a “skip day.” As a lot of people do during the holiday season, we’ve been running around like crazy doing our shopping and participating in a multitude of Christmas activities. In fact we’ve been so busy that it felt like we’d hardly gotten to spend any time together, as a family. So we stayed home. We skipped church (gasp!) and hung around our house all day in our pajamas.

It was wonderful.

We were able to spend quality time with each other and quality time playing with Blue. HandyMan and I played a couple games of Scrabble while Blue took a nap, we watched football, we played with Blue, wrapped Christmas presents (which Blue promptly tried to unwrap) and just “took it easy” all day. It was very relaxing as well as a much-needed and much enjoyed break.

As Sunday evening rolled around, the wind picked up outside, it began to snow and I started thinking about supper. Blue (and I) get pretty crabby when we’re hungry, so I gathered up the ingredients and began to make soup. It just seemed like the perfect meal for a cold Sunday evening. Soup, in general, is one of my favorite foods to eat during the winter months, but my mom’s Broccoli Cheese soup is one of my all-time favorites. It is never as good as when my mom makes it, but my attempt last night was pretty respectable, so I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
1T Olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 medium potatoes, cubed
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 can Chicken broth
1 can Evaporated milk
1 stick butter
½ gallon milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Water
1/3 cup cornstarch
Salt & Pepper

Add one tablespoon of Olive Oil to pot over medium heat. Add onion. While onion is cooking, cube potatoes. Add potatoes to the onion and then add chicken broth and enough hot water to cover the potatoes. Cover the pot and cook until the potatoes can be easily poked with a fork. Add one can of evaporated milk, 1 stick of butter, broccoli, cheese and up to one ½ gallon of milk (use more or less depending on how much soup you want and how thick you want it to be). Cover and cook until the broccoli is tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Dissolve cornstarch in one cup of milk and add to soup. Stir to until soup thickens. If necessary add more cornstarch and milk until the soup is the desired consistency.

Serve warm and garnish with shredded cheese, if desired.

Our soup last night was a hit. Blue ate all of his, even choosing to eat the broccoli over the potatoes! And best of all, the soup is great reheated and makes for wonderful leftovers! What are some of your “go to” recipes in cold weather?

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Blue, Snow & Christmas Trees
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