Broccoli-Cheese Soup

I've been excitedly waiting to share this recipe; I am still working my way through a backlog but finally it is time to present the broccoli-cheese soup.  Now let me start by saying that I am not a huge broccoli fan, and thus I am really not a big broccoli cheddar soup fan either.  However, last year at the Big E, Kenzie and I had broccoli-cheese soup from the Vermont building (for anyone who doesn't know, the Big E is the Eastern States Exposition and is basically a giant fair in West Springfield, MA every September; the best part - for me - is the food).  We got it in a bread bowl and totally devoured it  What stood out to me was that it wasn't super thick, the broccoli hadn't totally fallen apart, and it had thin egg noodles in it.  I'm not sure what made me order it in the first place, but I have dreamed about it for a year.  You can bet that this year at the Big E, the Vermont building was my first stop.  And imagine my excitement when I got up to the counter and found the recipe on little slips of paper!!!!

To make this even more exciting, the recipe is really simple.  There are really only 3 steps, and it comes together really quickly.  I also like to tell myself that it's not as unhealthy as you might think for a broccoli cheese soup; it calls for no cream, just milk, and I used our usual 1%.  There are only 2 tablespoons of butter that the onions get sautéed in... and okay fine there is a pound of cheddar cheese  but it's not called broccoli-cheese soup for nothing :)

This soup is so, so good.  Cheesy but not too thick, studded with green broccoli and thin noodles, creamy but still thin enough to be considered broth.  Everyone loved this soup - even Amelia who doesn't like soup, and my mom who is always picky.  This is a definite make-again for the next time we have broccoli sitting in the fridge :)

Recipe:

broccoli-cheese soup
from the Vermont building at the Big E
makes 4 quarts

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 10-ounce packages chopped broccoli
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pound or 4 cups cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups water
6 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
4 cups fine egg noodles

Instructions:

1) Saute onions in butter for 3 minutes.  Add water and bouillon.  Bring to a boil.  When bouillon is dissolved, gradually add noodles and salt.  Boil 3 minutes uncovered.

2) Stir in broccoli and garlic powder.  Cook 4 minutes or until broccoli is tender.

3) Add milk and cheese.  Cook until cheese melts.