Cream of Broccoli Soup

Although it didn't match the -2 we suffered earlier last week, Saturday's 6.6 degrees was just too darn cold for me. And, when it's cold, what's better than warm grinders (a.k.a. hoagies, po' boys, subs) and nice hot soup? Precious little, in my book.

Probably 5 or 6 years ago, I was preparing to make a pot of cream of broccoli soup, and my husband growled at me that he couldn't be expected to eat that (expletive deleted). Since he'd eaten, and claimed to like, it before, I was rather stunned. I poured the contents of the pan down the drain, cooked up some eggs, and told him he'd never suffer cream soup at my hands again. Well, I lied. I wanted this soup on Saturday, and so it was dinner. My son, the flooring guru, when he smelled it starting to cook, made appreciative noises and commented that he hadn't had it in a very long time. He ate 3 big bowls full, so it was obvious he liked it. And even my dearly beloved claimed to enjoy it. This really is good; try it!

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

1-1/2 cups broccoli, chopped small
1 onion, chopped small
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup powdered milk
2 cups heavy cream
copious amounts of freshly ground black pepper

Cook the onion and broccoli in the chicken broth about 15 minutes, or until done. Whisk in the powdered milk. Add the cream and pepper, heat through, and simmer for 15 minutes. There was one cup left over, and it was my breakfast/lunch on Sunday.

In case you'd like to make your own grinder rolls:

2 cups warm water
8 tsp yeast
6 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Stir in the sugar, then add the flour and salt. If desired, add oil; this will make your rolls softer. Knead or mix in the Kitchenaid (this recipe was too big for the bread machine) for 10 minutes, let rise for 10 minutes, form into long loaves and place on baking trays. Let them rise about 15 minutes, or until doubled in size. Bake at 375F for 16 to 18 minutes, until desired degree of brown is reached. Makes 4 foot-long rolls (14", in my case). If you don't want your grinder rolls in about an hour, then use half the yeast. Me, I don't like to wait too long. We filled our grinders with pork in BBQ sauce and turkey with gravy; I wish I'd had some meatballs.