Panera at Home

I love Panera. Unfortunately, the closest Panera is in Lafayette. One of my favorite soups from there is their broccoli cheddar soup. Yum! I was perusing one of my favorite websites and found this Panera Broccoli-Cheddar Soup, although I did add an extra ingredient. I HAD to try it out and see if it truly resembled the taste. Guess what? It DOES. I usually get the smoked turkey panini to go along with it. I know, creature of habit right here. We had gotten a panini press for a wedding gift, and I had yet to try it out. So, I used it tonight, and made a turkey panini. Score! A Panera meal, made right here in my home, and with my own ingredients, thus making it less expensive. :)

Here is the finished product:

(cool pic with the steam, huh? :) )

Recipe:

5 cups broccoli florets (if you have a little more or a little less that is fine)

6 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups milk or 1/2 & 1/2 <---I used milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

3 cups grated/shredded cheddar cheese

I added 1/2 cup of shredded carrots (I chopped them into even finer pieces)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Steam broccoli until tender, about six minutes. Chop finely. Set aside. In a large saucepan combine broth and milk. Slowly whisk in flour. Cook over med to med high heat, KEEP stirring. Cook until it starts to thicken but not too thick. Stir continuously otherwise the milk/flour will thicken at the bottom and form "clumps". Do it until it just starts to boil. Add chopped broccoli and carrots. Reduce heat to med low. Continue to cook about 5 minutes. Add cheese stir until cheese melts. Serve.

Delish! :)