stuffed

i love bread bowl soups. my first one was at disneyland, in anaheim, california. i thought it was the most amazing soup ever. every time we went to disneyland, and we went often (hello southern california resident discount!) i would crave the new england clam chowder soup in the sourdough bread bowl, served only at the stand right outside the pirates of the caribbean ride, in new orleans square. even in the middle of summer i would still want it. that bread bowl soup beat out the monte cristo sandwich, served in the blue bayou restaurant- the one you can see when you're on the pirates of the caribbean ride, as best disneyland food. except for the frozen lemonade and churros. those are in a category all their own.

blue bayou restaurant at disneyland, anaheim, california

many moons later, i finally made a bread bowl soup. i don't know why it took me so long to make this. it's the easiest thing to make and i love it. although, instead of new england clam chowder soup, i made my hubby's preferred cream of broccoli soup. equally as delicious and far less expensive.

 

the ingredient list is short and if you know how to make a roux and bechamel sauce, you can make this. i used sourdough bread because sourdough bread is manna from heaven, but you can use any bread you want, as long as it's a circular shape.

for the soup-

3 tablespoons of butter or margarine
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
2 cups of preferred milk- i used 1% lactose free because i'm lactose intolerant and on a d-i-e-t
2 cups of chicken broth- i cheat here and use bouillon cubes- if i had fresh broth i would use it
4 cups of uncooked broccoli florets

if you're using bouillon cubes, make the broth according to the instruction on the package and set aside.
in a nonstick pot and over medium high heat, melt the butter or margarine. add the flour and stir until combined and the roux is a light golden brown.

                           

add the milk and stir until roux has dissolved into the milk. bring to a simmer and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened- it will coat the back of a wooden spoon. add the chicken broth.

stir gently to combine. bring to a simmer and add the broccoli. simmer together until the broccoli is at desired tenderness. 

sorry for the bad pic! steam is not a good filter

set aside and prep the bread bowl. 

for the bread- 

1 loaf of sourdough bread- or preferred bread in a shape resembling a circle. mine was an oval.

following the circumference of the bread, about 2 inches away from the edge, cut about an inch into the top of the bread and remove the top.

hollow out the inside. my kids like to help with this part because they get to eat the leftover bread. tada! your bread bowl is ready for soup!

pour the cream of broccoli soup into the bread bowl and serve with preferred shredded cheese. we like ours with cheddar cheese. lots and lots of cheddar cheese. 

this was meant for dinner tonight, but once the soup and bread bowl were ready, we couldn't wait. hubby and i ate it for lunch. a gloriously delicious creamy lunch. 

now i'm so stuffed with goodness i can barely move. 

until next post- maggie