I Have Already Cheated

This is my second day of blogging and my first day of actual cooking and I have already cheated. In preparation for Terry's surgery I cooked several meals in advance. One of those meals can be found in my church cookbook, so I am going to count that one as my first recipe-broccoli/cheese soup. We did have it for lunch today, so in my book that is okay. If you have been around me very long you already know me by this soup. I have prepared it for many of my friends. If you come home from the hospital in the winter I will bring you this soup or one of two others. Whenever I have groups of people over for fellowship this soup or one of the other two will probably make an appearance. It is requested time and again by young and old alike. One of our youth called it "food network good." It is not a crockpot recipe as one of you requested, but it can be prepared in under an hour and the ingredients can become staples in your pantry.

It is appropriate that my first recipe be from one of my relatives, my sister-in-law, Sandra. She made it for me the first time after a long fun day of shopping at Christmas Village. Sandra is selfless, generous, funny, kind, and unlike me finishes projects she begins. She is currently in graduate school and I have no doubt she will finish with flying colors, while taking excellent care of her family. Although we live in the same city, we might as well live across the country. I do not get to see her nearly as often as I would like. It is too easy to get caught up in our busy lives and forget about the people who are the most important. When we do get together I find it is always worth every bit of the effort. When we get together good food is always involved.

The recipe can be found on page 9 of the church cookbook. For those of you who do not own the cookbook I will also post the recipes at the end of each blog entry.

Broccoli/Cheese Soup

1 med-lg onion chopped 1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 stalks celery, finely chopped 1 can cream of celery soup

1 stick butter 2 lbs. Velveeta cheese

1 can Ro-Tel 16 to 20 oz. chopped broccoli

2 cans chicken broth

Saute onions and celery in butter. Add broccoli, chicken broth and Ro-Tel. Simmer in large saucepan until soft. Add soups. Add Velveeta cheese and melt. Use low heat and stir often. For a creamier soup, put onions, celery, Ro-Tel and broccoli through the food processor. (I do not use the food processor, but I do follow rest of the recipe exactly as is.)

2 cans chicken broth