Cheddar Broccoli Soup

This is possibly the easiest thing I've ever made--simple, simple, simple, and made easier by the fact that I got myself a new immersion stick blender! Purchased with my Amazon Rewards Visa... rewards. Wow, life changing. It seems silly to be posting a soup recipe in July, but I don't care, it just tastes good.

I've tried to use the hand mixer in lieu of the blender, and that was a splattery disaster, plus a cleanup hassle. This time around, I made a bit of a mess, but not bad at all. Plus my hand mixer is silver--it's so sexy.


Ingredients:

• 1 14-ounce can vegetable broth, or 1 cube bullion + water
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound broccoli crowns, trimmed and chopped (about 6 cups) --I used 1 bag frozen, rinsed to get the freezer burn off
• 1 14-ounce can cannelloni beans, rinsed--Canned beans are super high in sodium, but I tried dried beans, and even after two days of soaking they were still a bit crunchy. I need to get better at working with beans, clearly.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt --I did not add salt because the canned beans are salty already, as is the bullion--tasted great
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper or black pepper
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

1. Bring broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add broccoli, cover and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in beans, salt and pepper and cook until the beans are heated through, about 1 minute.
2. Transfer half the mixture to a blender and puree, or use kick-ass hand blender.
3. Transfer to a bowl and blend the other half of the mixture.
4. Stir in cheese.

Yes, this looks like throw-up, but it is delicious and fantastically fast and easy. I will be making it again soon.