crockpot wednesdays 

I hope you will join me this week for Crock Pot Wednesday.  Iā€™m really enjoying visiting your blogs and trying out your recipes.

 

 

32980475 In honor of all that I am thankful for, I am having a little giveaway.  One of the giveaway prizes will be given to a randomly generated entry from this weekā€™s CPW.  The second will go to the blog receiving the most comments here after you visit it.  In other words, after visiting the entries for this weekā€™s CPW, leave a comment on the writerā€™s blog and come back here and tell me which entry you think should get the prize.  Base your decision on the likelihood that you are going to try that recipe within the next couple of weeks.  If there is a tie in the ā€œvoting,ā€  I will let Hubby chose a name from the crock pot:)  The winners will be announced on next weekā€™s Crock Pot Wednesday post.

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Hubby loves my cheese soup; he recently asked me to make up a batch so I am obliging his request.  However, since I am trying to use up the items in my freezer before reorganizing it, I am actually making broccoli cheese soup since I seem to have several bags of the frozen chopped variety available.  (Wonder what I was thinking when I bought it?  Do you ever do that?)

 

 

 

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

2 quarts chicken stock, divided (or vegetable)
3/4 cup onions, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups carrots, coarsely chopped
16 ounces frozen, chopped broccoli
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds Velveeta, chunked**
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup flour

Place one quart of chicken stock, onions, celery and carrots in the slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 1 hour(or LOW for 2 hours).  Add the chopped broccoli, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and black pepper.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours .  Add the additional quart of chicken stock and the Velveeta.  Cook on LOW for another 2 hours to allow the cheese to melt, stirring occasionally.  Make a roux of the melted butter and flour; stir into cheese mixture and whisk.  Set the slow cooker on WARM until you are ready to eat. The soup will thicken.  If it gets thicker than you desire, add warm water.  (You can put all of this together in one stage and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours if you really need to do so.  I do think it is necessary to stir it occasionally, however.)

We like the texture of the soup to be somewhat chunky.  If that bothers you, either blend in the blender or use an immersion blender to smooth it out..  This will tend to thicken the soup, so you may need to add more liquid.

**I sometimes substitute other cheeses for part of the Velveeta.  I particularly like Parmesan and Gruyere.  I save my Parmesan rinds to throw into the pot when I add the second quart of chicken stock.   They never quite melt, but they impart a terrific flavor.  All Cheddar tends to make the soup stringy, so I would avoid replacing more than a cup of the cheese with that.  Iā€™ve even used shredded cheese blends whenever I have had some that needed to be used.  Experiment with different cheeses to see what you prefer. 

If you prefer, you can decrease the amount of broccoli to 10 ounces.  It just depends on your taste.  I know some people add nutmeg and salt, but I never do.  The cheese has plenty of salt already (plus, Hubby tends to salt his salt if you know what I mean).   I sometimes add rice if I happen to have any leftover.

Linked to:
Souper Sunday with Deb
Menu Plan Monday
Tasty Tuesdays  with Jen
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday with Lisa
Tuesdays At the Table with Cole

Nenos_Award_icon 

 

Tiffanee at One Crazy Cookie has graciously presented me with Nenoā€™s Award.  Sheā€™s a new blogging friend.  You should visit her blog and introduce yourself:)  Here are the requirements that I am to follow:

Neno’s Awardā€”-Rules and Regulations

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
4. Donā€™t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
5. Answer the awardā€™s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
7. Donā€™t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

For me, blogging is a creative outlet that compares to the diaries we all wrote as young girls (and boys) and the journals that many of us kept throughout our adulthood.  Dining With Debbie combines my love of cooking and recipe development with my love of writing.  I also have a blog just for my grandchildren that I use to share stories and write stories with them.  My class blog is just beginning.  I hope to be able to encourage young writers to develop their own blog journals.  Many will spend time writing at the computer when they would not otherwise do so.  Iā€™ve met the most interesting people through blogging, havenā€™t you?  Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your lives.

Iā€™m going to share this award with my Tuesday friends: Jen, Lisa and Cole.  I really appreciate all of their hard work with their Tuesday blog events.  I hope you will plan to visit each one of them.