Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Broccoli Cheese Soup is my favorite soup, hands down.  I love broccoli in general--raw broccoli, steamed broccoli, broccoli pizza (trust me, it's awesome)...broccoli in a cheesy soup just adds to the delightful flavor. Just recently, I made my very first soup with Butternut Squash and Beer Soup.  It came out awesome, and I learned just how easy it is to make a soup on the stovetop.  This time, I wanted to do a variation of broccoli cheese soup with way more vegetables.



I followed this recipe for a vegetable chowder, adding in some seasonings and throwing in some potatoes to really make this great.  I have future plans for a vegetable chowder similar to New England Clam Chowder sans the clams, which is a thinner, non-cheesy soup, but this time went cheese crazy with this recipe.

The Dutch Oven has become really handy, so I opted to use it again for this soup.  I tossed some chopped green peppers and onions in the bottom of the pan and cooked it with some butter until they were soft.

Next, I added the water and bouillon, then cut up potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, and potato, and tossed them in.  I used a lot more vegetables than the original recipe called for, so I increased the water and bouillon to make sure there was enough liquid to cook in.

I brought the vegetables to a boil then lowered the heat and let them cook for 25 minutes, until they were fork tender.

Finally, I mixed some milk and flour together in a cup and poured it in to thicken the soup.  I increased this quantity as well to make up for the extra liquid I had put in earlier.  I cooked it for another minute, then started adding in the cheese.  I poured in 4 cups of shredded sharp cheddar, then cut up some Gouda I had in the fridge and mixed them both in until they were melted.

And voila, soup!

Yum!  The vegetables were super soft to the point of barely being able to tell this was a chunky soup.  It was super cheesy which also means it was very flavorful, and it filled me up fast!  My friend at work said the Gouda and cheddar cheeses had a clashing flavor.  Despite my love of cheese, I am no expert, and I personally liked the flavor the mixture brought out.    The soup thickened dramatically overnight in the fridge, and to thin it out my friend suggested adding some seasoned milk. I didn't mind the thickness, so I chose to leave it alone for the leftovers, but I'll keep that in mind for future use.  So glad I can make this soup on my own!
Cheesy Vegetable Chowder Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup green pepper (chopped)
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1 large russet potato (chopped)
2 cups broccoli (chopped)
1 cup celery (chopped)
1 cup carrots (chopped)
1 cup cauliflower (chopped)
5 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups 2% milk
3/4 cup flour
3 teaspoons dried parsley
2 cups shredded cheddar
1/2 cup Gouda


Instructions:

Melt butter in the bottom of a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add finely chopped green pepper and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until they are soft. Cut potato, broccoli, celery, carrots, and cauliflower into chunks 1/2 to 1 inch in size. Add water, bouillon, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper and vegetables to pot and heat to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Once vegetables are fork tender, mix milk and flour together in a small bowl using a fork. Stir into pot and continue cooking for 1 minute. Once soup thickens, mix in parsley, cheddar, and Gouda cheeses. Stir until melted, then serve.