Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice

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Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice

Last weekend Nick asked me to buy some veggies he could eat for snacks, so when I was at Sam’s Club, I bought giant bags of Broccoli, Celery, and Carrots. I knew the kids liked them too, and they eat A LOT, so I wasn’t worried about them going bad before they could eat them all. Then I remembered the kids can’t eat them raw due to their braces. I just made Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Chicken and Rice Soup the week before, so I needed a new recipe that I could use all of these in. They used to enjoy the Panera Broccoli & Cheese Soup, but there isn’t a Panera that’s reasonably close to us, and they don’t like it in the Panera containers that Sam’s Club sells because it isn’t “fresh” enough for them. So, I decided to make some at home.

Several of you asked about the bowl in the picture. I got a set of these around Christmas time from Target. They’re part of the JoAnna Gaines Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia Collection, and I think they were around $5 each!

I browsed the internet looking over a variety of recipes for Broccoli Cheese Soup. None really met the parameters I had in mind, so I decided to just throw some stuff together and see what happened. I considered putting it in bread bowls, but they were $5 each at the market this week, and $20 for bread alone for ONE MEAL was not in my budget, it got served in bowls 🙂 Normally when I try a new recipe, I’ll make it several times making adjustments here and there, and I won’t write it down until it’s perfect (for us). I’ll be honest, I really did not expect this one to go well, because I had ingredients I was just throwing in, and it was a very easy broccoli cheese soup recipe. At the end, I added chicken and rice, so maybe we’ll call it… Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice. It was easy. I used only one pot. Broccoli. Cheddar Cheese. Chicken. Rice. Bam – it has a name 🙂

McCormick Limited Edition Cheddar Broccoli Soup, 1.05 OZ (Pack of 1)

*Shown as an example so you know what the package looks like when shopping in-store. I purchased mine at a Wholesale Club in a bulk size, so the pricing was MUCH more affordable 🙂

I don’t have the ingredient or in process pictures, because I really wasn’t prepared to share the recipe just yet. Once the family tested it, they proclaimed it AMAZING and insisted I share it immediately. I shared it with a quick phone snapshot and had several messages asking for the recipe, so here it is. No fancy picture set up, they let me use the last scoop of soup in a bowl to snap two pictures, then they ate it. Not one drop was leftover for lunch the next day. I’ll make it again soon, probably next month, and try to get some additional and better shots 🙂 I may make it in the slow cooker next time too because I think it would work well on low for 6-8 hours.

Food Network Enameled Cast Iron 5.5qt Dutch Oven – This is the EXACT model I have.

Here’s is how I prepared this Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice Recipe:

I melted half a stick of butter in my Dutch Oven. I already had my carrots, celery, broccoli, and onions peeled & diced and stuck in the freezer in a gallon freezer bag (I bought in bulk last week at Sam’s Club, prepped them when I got home bagged together & labeled for how I was using them). I threw the frozen veggies in with the melted butter and let them unthaw, and cook until softened. I added the garlic powder, salt & pepper, and Italian seasoning as they cooked. Once they were ready, I poured in the cheese, chopped chicken, chicken broth, McCormick Slow Cookers Cheddar Broccoli Soup Seasoning, and brought the liquid to a boil. I reduced heat and let it simmer, stirring every half hour. When we were about 30 minutes away from eating, I added the rice (I used Uncle Ben’s Butter & Garlic Rice, the bags cook in the microwave for 90 seconds, but when using in a soup I do not microwave it, I just add it to the soup). I let that simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes then served with garlic bread sticks. My original plan was bread bowls, but at my local market they were $5.99 each – I would’ve needed 4 and didn’t want to pay $24 for bread alone, so we passed on that. Next time, I might bake my own, but they liked it really well with the breadsticks!

These are a few items I use in my own kitchen when preparing this Easy One Pot Broccoli & Cheese Soup with Chicken & Rice Recipe:

PiggiesC Silicone Soup Funnel Kitchen Gadget Tools Water Deflector ToolRachael Ray Cucina Tools Lazy Ladle, Cranberry RedKOVOT Set of 4 Speckled Ceramic Soup Bowls With Spoons – 22-Ounces EachOXO Good Grips Y PeelerHOMWE Kitchen Cutting Board (3-Piece Set) | Juice Grooves w/ Easy-Grip Handles | BPA-Free, Non-Porous, Dishwasher Safe | Multiple Sizes (Set of Three, Gray)8-Inch Multipurpose Stainless Steel Chef Knife with ABS Handle by Utopia Kitchen

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