NEW RICHMOND’S BROCCOLI CHEDDAR SOUP

BY BOBBIE GUYETTE, 2022-2023 SNA-WI PRESIDENT-ELECT

Hello WI School Nutrition Professionals! How are we already half way through another school year?!?! It has been a wild one here in the western portion of the state. We have had record snowfall and more school closure days due to weather than ever before. As anyone in school nutrition knows, snow days can really cause stress. Even though we have all reached “level expert” with adjusting menus due to product availability, adjusting menus for snow days are a bit more intensive.

In fact, our district had a snow day this last menu cycle on my favorite menu day – Broccoli Cheddar Soup! I know I was not the only one bummed about this. One of our elementary principals literally puts it on his calendar when this entrée is being served at his site! You should know I do consider myself a broccoli soup aficionado, and our recipe meets my high standard of critique. I grew up with my mom’s recipe that simply cannot be beat, and will forever be my FAVORITE food, however the sodium content would not fit in our meal pattern!

New Richmond’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Number of Portions: 41

Size of Portion: 1 cup

Credits as 1 oz eq Meat Alternate, served with a grain side

ž Yellow Cheese Sauce Pouch – 2 pouches

LS Vegetable Base – 1 tablespoon

HOT Water – 2 cups

Half & Half – 1.5 quarts

ž Onion Powder – 1 teaspoon

ž Garlic Powder – 1 teaspoon

ž Ground Mustard – 1 teaspoon

Black Pepper – 0.5 teaspoon

Cornstarch – 0.5 cup

COLD Water – 0.5 cup

ž Frz Broccoli Florets – 4#

ž Frz Carrot Coins – 2#

1. Heat cheese sauce in water until thinned and easy to pour.

2. Combine vegetable base with hot water.

3. Combine cornstarch with cold water.

4. Line steamtable pans with liners. Pour in cheese sauce, vegetable broth, half & half, and spices. Whisk in cornstarch/water mixture.

5. Cover with lid and heat for 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, steam broccoli & carrots until tender. Drain water and chop roughly into small pieces.

7. Remove from oven and add in vegetables.

I do not take credit for our district’s recipe. I give those kudos to our fabulous School Nutrition Coordinator, Kate Watkins, who developed this one. In fact, after testing and menu placement at our elementary sites with the thickening agent of a cornstarch slurry we wanted to see the soup with a thicker texture. We played with using dehydrated potatoes, which worked very well, but gave the flavor profile of the soup something we were not looking for. Therefore, we tweaked further with the cornstarch slurry and found our perfect recipe.

Not only should you feel free to take this recipe for your own use, but I fully encourage you to try soups if you are not. I fully understand that they can be tricky for elementary students, and we do not go without spills here and there, but trust me, our kids love soup and I know yours will too. Plus, bonus, soups hold so well! If you are needing recipes that do not need batch cooking, soups are perfect!