Chicken Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 boneless chicken breast
Olive oil
1 tablespoon MzzBev's Mexican Seasoning
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk (we only had 1% so I had no choice but to use it)
1 cup sour cream
1 pinch of nutmeg
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 large bunch fresh broccoli, cut into flowerettes
2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Place chicken breast on a cookie sheet or oven proof pan.  Rub MzzBev's Mexican seasoning on the chicken breast.  Drizzle the chicken with olive oil.  Roast in pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.

In the meantime....In a large pot on medium heat, melt butter

Add chopped onions to melted butter.  Stir and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Add the garlic and stir.  Cook for 2 minutes (make sure not to burn garlic, gets bitter when that happens)

Add the flour to the butter mixture and whisk until well blended.

Stir for about 2 minutes, whisking the whole time.

Add the sour cream and the milk and stir until well blended.

Add a pinch of nutmeg (I like using fresh whenever possible)

Add the broccoli and stir in

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.  Stir occasionally to keep milk from sticking to pan.

If the chicken is done by now.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

When the soup is almost done simmering, chop chicken into bite sized pieces

Add the cheese to the soup and blend well

Blend the soup with an immersion blender.  If you don't have one, blend two cups of the soup in a blender.   You can blend half of it or all of it, doesn't matter.

Add the cooked chicken to the soup (make sure it's added after the soup os blended).  Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve with your favorite artisan bread or just alone.

The power of suggestion!  I was relaxing with my feet resting on the ottoman, sipping my tea and enjoying an e-book when the author mentioned that a character had offered some Broccoli Cheese soup.  It had me at broccoli.  In a split second I was looking up the recipe of the soup and sure enough, Google pulled up Pioneer Woman's recipe and sure enough, I clicked on it.  It seemed I had everything for the recipe except for the whole milk (I had 1%) and half/half (I used sour cream).

I was surprised how thick the soup was, which is what I wanted.  I was also surprised the sour cream did not effect the flavor in any way, just helped make it thick and creamy.  The soup hit the spot and it took no time to make it.

Hubby passed by while I was making the soup, and  sarcastically asked what in the world was I making?  LOL!  I knew he wouldn't want any because he's not crazy about broccoli so I made him a hamburger and that always makes him happy.

I so enjoy cooking in the kitchen, trying new recipes.  It's always fun when I have all the ingredients for any given recipe.

For the past couple of years, I've gotten into the habit of buying a Christmas themed book during the holiday season.  This past year, I bought two and also started a previous one I had read before.  I just love being taken away to a snowy lodge up in the mountains or somewhere like that.  With this being my 2nd winter in Michigan, you'd think I'd be sick of snowy, chilly winters but on the contrary.  It just makes me love the books even more.  I don't like them when they're too mushy & sultry though but I do like them when they're humurous mysteries and thrillers, not to mention a story having a cat in it.  Even with Christmas come and gone that's okay, I still enjoy reading them.   I will post my book list (just like Monique does from La Table de Nana) on the right side of my blog. Feel free to let me know if you've read any of the ones I have listed.

Until next time,