{recipe} Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Test Recipes Week 4!

I was excited to test out this next recipe, because I got to try my new blender!  It's just a cheap-o one from Target, but it worked great!  It's kind of sad how excited I got over a new blender.  Oh well!  I also actually remembered to take pictures of this recipe for my blog! 

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE SOUP (delish.com)

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 lbs) cauliflower, cut into 1" chunks
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 pkg. (8 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 c. water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.  In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.  Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, storring occasionally.  Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 c. cheese until melted and smooth.  Don't let boil or cheese may get stringy.  Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

It seems lately I just can't make a recipe exactly the way it is written.  I'm always making little tweaks and changes to adapt things to my own taste.  Here are the changes I made to this recipe:

1) I added chopped carrots for a little color, but I think I should have waited to add them until the cauliflower mixture had already gone through the blender so that they could be seen.

2) Instead of 2 cups milk I added 1 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. cream...just to make sure it was nice and yummy :)

3) I also added a little ground white pepper.

Not as good as broccoli cheese soup (my all-time favorite), but still pretty good!  I rated it GOOD, and will probably make it again some day.