Cream of Broccoli Soup

I love cream soups!  Again, it was a terrible winter and I became a little soup crazy!  Originally, I wanted to start off my experimenting with cream soups with a Cream of Cauliflower Soup.  I searched for an easy recipe, and unfortunately did not find any.  Disappointed, and pushing this idea aside, I came across a sale on broccoli at our local supermarket.  I searched for an easy recipe for Cream of Broccoli Soup, finally finding one.  However, over time, I've made so many modifications to it, that I think I finally made it to be the easiest Cream of Broccoli Soup recipe EVER!  My son has only tried this a few times, and seemed to like it.  He hasn't tried it since becoming so independent, and wanting to feed himself, so I'm not quite sure how he would like it these days!

Yields about 8 servings

Prep time: 15 min   Cook time:  30 min

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups preferably fresh, but can use frozen, broccoli, steamed (NOTE: you can divide the amount after steaming if you would like some chunks of broccoli in your soup, otherwise it will be all liquid)
• The original recipe calls for 1 clove of freshly minced garlic, I like it a little more garlicky, I felt at 1 clove it was still a little too bland, so this is strictly to your taste
• 1 cup sliced sauteed White Mushrooms, optional
• 1 1/2 cups of Vegetable Broth
• 3 tablespoons Margarine
• 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 3 1/2 cups of Milk (you can use whatever milk you have in the house, skim, whole, whichever!)
• salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions:

For a totally liquid soup (you may still get tiny pieces of broccoli and mushroom in the soup):

1. Take the mushrooms, broccoli, garlic and 3/4 cup of broth and puree in food processor.
2. In a deep pot over medium heat, melt the margarine.  Add the flour and continuously mix, until it thickens and starts to brown.
3. Add the milk and the remaining broth, slowly.  Stir until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in pureed mixture.  
4. (Note:  I've added this step in case there is a clumping issue with the flour, which I found happens frequently)  In batches, liquidize in food processor or blender. (You'll need 2 pots for this; the pot everything was in prior to liquidation and the pot everything will go into and get heated in)  
5. Heat thoroughly.  Season with salt and pepper.

 For a soup with larger chunks of broccoli and mushroom:

1. Take 1 cup steamed broccoli, garlic and 1/2 cup of broth and puree in food processor.
2. In a deep pot over medium heat, melt the margarine.  Add the flour and continuously mix, until it thickens and starts to brown.
3. Add the milk and remaining broth, slowly, Stir until it thickens, about 5 minutes.  Add the pureed mixture, the remaining broccoli and the mushrooms and heat thoroughly.  Season with salt and pepper.  Let stand a few minutes to allow it to thicken.