I love soup. I could eat soup probably 2 times a week. My husband doesn’t like soup. He considers it more of a side dish than a main dish, unless it’s something like a thick chili with cornbread, or a thick beef stew. Thick being the key for him, it can’t have much soup.

But, occasionally I make a soup that everyone seems to like, at least most everyone, and I make a soup in the fall, or as I’m pulling veggies out of my root cellar and storeroom, that is so, so good. I thought I would share this recipe with you today. It is pretty versatile in what you can add to it, so this is what we do, but you can change up the veggies or change the amounts for what you like. If you have a garden, this one is great at the end of the season.

I love creamy soups and have found many I like over the years. Taste of Homes has a great Cream of Broccoli soup that is excellent. I have combined features I like from a variety of sources to make one that my family really enjoys, so here it is:

Creamy Veggie Soup

• 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil or Butter
• 1 Onion, chopped how you like it, my kids like it finely chopped
• 2 Celery ribs, chopped about the same size as the onion
• 2 Carrots, chopped about like the onion as well. I do mine a bit bigger as my kids aren’t opposed to carrots.
• Dried Herbs of your choice, I like Basil and Parsley, or Rosemary and Thyme, Marjoram is a great one as well.

Heat the olive oil or butter in a large sauce pan. Cook the chopped veggies on medium for 5-7 minutes or until starting to brown a little bit. Add the dried herbs just before you add the water for about 30 seconds.

• 4 C Water
• 1 Head Broccoli, finely chopped
• 3-4 Potatoes cut into cubes
• 2 C Cubed Ham or Chicken, precooked
• 4 tsp Better Than Bouillon or 4 Bouillon Cubes (I have used the chicken, the vegetable and the garlic flavors)

Add water to pot and scrape up any browned bits off bottom of pan. Add the veggies, ham and bouillon and cook on low for 10-15 minutes or until the broccoli and potatoes are tender.

• 2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup, you could probably also use Cream of Mushroom
• 1 – 1 1/2 C Whole Milk
• 1/2 C Heavy Cream (sometimes I don’t have cream, so I just do all milk, 2 cups total)
• 2 C Sour Cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Once all the veggies are tender, add the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir on low until heated through and all the remaining ingredients are well combined. You don’t have to stir constantly, but you don’t want the milk products to burn to the bottom, and if you heat it on too high a heat, they will separate and can become a bit grainy.

Some other optional veggies would be cauliflower, parsnips, and leeks. It might even be good with a golden beet, but they take a lot longer to cook than potatoes and broccoli, so the cooking time would have to be changed a little bit.

This soup is fantastic by itself, but we also really like it with a little bit of grated cheese on top, or you could add it in at the end to make it a cheesy, creamy soup. We also like to have grilled cheese or tuna sandwiches with it. I hope you try this with your family. Let me know what you think!

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