This week on the docket was Cheesy Vegetable Chowder. I liked that it included a lot of different veggies, and, of course, cheese is never a bad thing in my book. This recipe works a little differently than some soup recipes, but ultimately worked out just fine. I swapped frozen corn out for the canned corn, and I wanted to use my whole head of broccoli, so in the end I probably had a little different veggie ratio than called for. This recipe is very forgiving with that, and I'm pretty sure no one is going to know unless you tell them.
I had a last minute scramble because I didn't see the gravy packet on the list when I did my weekly grocery shopping. I started scouring the Internet for substitution recipes, and it was harder to find a suitable one that I expected. I didn't need to actually make the gravy, so just finding the thickening agents was challenging. I ended up using this one. I used regular flour instead of the Wondra, and a light sprinkle of red pepper instead of Cajun seasoning. I ended up using about half of this recipe and it worked well for thickening the soup.
I used 2% Velveeta, and that gave a nice cheesy flavor. Whenever I cook with Velveeta, I always add a little bit of regular cheddar to balance out the slightly sweet flavor of the processed cheese. Use a generous handful, and you'll have a good balance.
This was a delicious soup that had everything you might like about a regular broccoli cheddar variety, but with more variation. I pulled some cornbread muffins from the freezer as our side, and it was the perfect match. I would definitely make this recipe again. It's a big soup batch, and the flavor was perfect. It's also a great way to use up some veggie odds and ends if you've got them hanging out in the fridge, freezer, or pantry.
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