Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

Every month, Food Network does a Copy Cat recipe in their magazine. It is a perfect knockoff of famous dishes served in restaurants. This is probably my favorite part of the entire magazine. This one is my favorite Copy Cat recipe to date.

The first time I made this soup was when Chris first abandoned me in Mississippi. He was off to train in Alabama for six weeks. Bummer. We had only lived in the south for a few months and I still had not become familiar with the area. I had never heard of Panera Bread, but the soup looked amazing, so I figured I'd give it a try. Weeks later, I realized there was actually a Panera Bread about an hour from here. Heavenly.

I have made this recipe four or five times, and its turned out perfectly everytime (except my first attempt). Lesson learned: do not add any more cheese than the recipe calls for- in fact- you can do it without the cheese entirely if you'd like! The first time I made this, the amount of cheese just seemed to small, so I added more, and it was too cheesy. (Yes, there is a such a thing as too much cheese, trust me.)

Specks of broccoli and carrot- yay



Ingredients:

* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

* 1 small onion, chopped

* 1/4 cup flour

* 2 cups half-and-half

* 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

* 2 bay leaves

* 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

* salt and pepper

* 4 cups fresh broccoli florets

* 1 large carrot (I used 2)

* 2 1/4 cups (about 8 oz) grated sharp white and yellow cheddar cheese (I just used medium cheddar)

* 4  7-in sourdough bread boules (round loaves) if you'd like to eat yours in a bread bowl

To Do:

* Melt butter in large pot on stovetop over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Whisk in flour and cook until golden- just a few minutes.

* Gradually whisk in half-and-half until smooth. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to season- bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, about 20 minutes.

* If you are having bread bowls, prepare them now. Using sharp knife, cut circle into the top of each loaf, remove top, and hollow out the center. Be sure to leave a thick shell.

* Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, another 20 minutes. Once veggies are tender, remove bay leaves.

* Puree the soup in batches in your blender- be sure to get an even mixture of veggies and broth. Blend soup to your preferred thickness. If you like yours chunkier, don't blend for as long- if you like a creamy soup- puree the crap outta that thing!

* Return the blended soup to the pot on the stove and whisk in shredded cheese over a medium heat. This will only take a few minutes. Ladel into bread bowls, and garnish with more shredded cheese if desired