Broccoli Cheese Soup

From Let Me Plan Dinner! This turned out sooo good. Of course Bill added more cheese when I asked him to dish it out. We ate it with toasty garlic bread. Yum! We thought it would also taste good with cubed ham or even...bacon! But it was surprisingly good on its own.

1 large potato, diced small
1 c cauliflower florets
2 c broccoli florets
3 T butter
1/4 c flour
1 can chicken broth
2 c milk
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t pepper
2 t minced onion
4-8 oz grated cheddar cheese

In a small saucepan, steam potato, cauliflower, and broccoli (with potato on the bottom and broccoli on the top) until tender.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt the butter on low heat. Stir in the flour.

Turn the heat up to high and whisk in the chicken broth, milk, salt, pepper, and minced onion. Bring to a rolling boil for a minute, stirring constantly, or until mixture begins to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

Stir in the cooked potato, broccoli, and cauliflower. Remove from heat and stir in 4 oz cheese until melted.

Serve with fresh cracked pepper and additional grated cheese.

Pasta ai Broccoli

2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 box penne pasta
3 garlic cloves
crushed red pepper flakes

Bring water to boil. Add chopped broccoli. Bring again to boil. Add salt and pasta.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet with minced garlic and red pepper flakes.

Drain the cooked pasta, but try to keep the broccoli particles with the pasta. Add pasta and broccoli to oil in skillet. Mix well.

Top with shredded parmesan before serving.

**The traditional version of this recipe uses Broccoli Rabe instead of conventional broccoli. I like to use broccolini. In this picture I used both conventional broccoli and broccolini.