Dairy Free Creme of Broccoli Soup

BRRRRRR! Am I right or am I right?

All of the sudden we went from blasting our AC during the day to blasting the heater instead and bundling up in blankets. Instead of keeping the door closed to keep the cold air in we have been keeping it closed to keep the cold air out!

On top of that, I have had a sore throat. So yesterday because I decided I was going to stop mourning summer being over, because as we all know I love summer. But instead of crying about how much I want to go swimming or eat some watermelon. (can you believe I bought a watermelon for 75 cents a pound the other day?! Don't worry I had severe buyers remorse when I got home and saw my receipt and it was a whopping 19 dollars! So I took it back and said goodbye to the days of watermelon)

Anyway, I decided this whole " I hate the winter" attitude has got to change, otherwise every morning I will wake up hating being up, and the rest of my day will be miserable for the next 9 months.

So I am trying something new, I am going to be one of "Those" ladies that loves the fall and winter months. I am going to try to forget about all the reasons I HATE winter and just focus on ways to love it. I am going to fill my house with fall smells, and spooky decor, and help my kids grow an appreciation for all of the season.

As a start of this new resolution, and my sore throat, I decided I was in the need of soup, the good kind, not the kind from a can. But the kind that my mom used to make that filled our home growing up with good heart warming smells. So I called my mom and asked her to explain to me how to make her famous Creme of Broccoli Soup.

So she patiently instructed me on how to make it.

Many of you know that my husband is allergic to milk. So often times this time of year is hard on our family, or maybe just me. Because while everyone is enjoying the yummy treats and such we don't really get to partake. I mean I get to, bu it doesn't make my body to happy.

Kory doesn't really like soup. He says it is not a meal. I however LOVE soup. My theory is it is because he never gets the good stuff. You know the creamy delicious fatty soups that make you feel better when you are sick and miserable. He for the most part has to stick to the broths and the stews. Which are good too, but just not AS good.  So I decided while I was being experimental I would try to make this soup with Almond milk instead of the milk my mom uses. Not only would this make it so he could eat it,  but Almond milk is great for sustaining blood sugar, and has a good amount of protein, and is just better for you than milk. So everyone wins. I was worried it would taste like almonds. But the onions and salt and pepper made it so you could not tell the difference at all. 

 Also this recipe is cut in half for our small family. I would double if you want to feed more than 2 1/2 half people. Both Kory and I had a big bowl and we still have a serving or more left.

you will need...
a stick of butter
1/2 c flour
3 chicken boulion cubes
Almond milk (about 2 cups worth)
Frozen broccoli Florettes
3 sticks of Celery
1/2 sweet onion (the white ones)


**Now before I explain my process I realize that there are MANY of you out there who are regular soup makers and know how to do this. I have made soup before, but from a mix, where I just had to add milk and stir, so this was a first for me. And there are probably faster ways to do this and more efficient ways. But I was experimenting with the almond milk and didn't want to waste if it wasn't going to work.  In fact, turns out I misunderstood my moms directions and there is, but this worked for me, and I know it will work with the almond milk.**

Also, I thought I would post it for those of you who have requested it. 

Step one:
Make Chicken Broth.

Take 3 boulion cubes and 3 cups of water and dissolve in a pot of water. (you could also buy a couple cans of chicken stock)

Step two:
Make a Roux Sauce using butter and flour in a good sized sauce pan

Take 1/2 cup butter bring to boil-reduce heat to about medium/ low heat.
Add 1/2 cup of flour and whisk to create a roux sauce -
Add a tsp of salt to mixture

( I know how to do this because I have to do this to make home made mac and cheese sauce, but if you're confused go look for a video on youtube, because the first time I did this I burned it.)   

Basically it will turn into a clumpy gravy type stuff, so you will then need to slowly add your milk to the roux mixture

Step three:
Add your milk and broth to clumpy mixture

Add 1/4 cup of almond milk and wisk
then add a 1/4 cup broth and whisk
Repeat until it is the consistency you would like for your soup.
Bring to a low heat, make sure you continue to stir this.

Trouble shoot: If it is too thin- turn up the heat slightly until it thickens.

If it is too thick-Add more liquid
If it is too floury tasting- add more liquid, or salt and pepper

Step four: 
Saute your veggies in some butter. 

At this point I called my mom, turns out you could actually add the veggies to the butter in step two. But obviously it was too late for that.

So in a skillet warm a little bit of butter.
Then add your diced sweet onion, 3 sticks of diced celery, and cut broccoli (frozen or fresh)
Saute those babies until cooked.

Step five: 
Add your cooked veggies to the soup

Continue to stir
Salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer uncovered on low stirring occasionally.

CROCK POT MODIFICATION

Obviously I haven't done this but if you wanted to have this in a crock pot so you could make it earlier then eat it later in the day.

I think you would just need to trow it in the crock pot at step five, then just keep it on low until it is time to eat it. Keep in mind you still need to stir it throughout the day, and add more milk or broth if it starts to thicken too much.

Dinner Is served! 

*the picture looks kinda sick, it was from my phone and this was taken of the left over stuff this morning so it was thick and cold :)*

We served this with whole wheat bread, Apple cider seen here, fresh cut peaches, and then cinnamon apple turnovers, sweetend with agave, apple juice and cinnamon for dessert. (they weren't very sweet, but would be perfect with almond milk ice cream or coconut milk whip creme. ) 

The cider was ok, neither Kory nor I really like cider turns out, but it did make our house smell like yummy yummy fall goodness all night long!

Hope you all are enjoying the fall as much as we are trying too!