Broccoli Cheese Soup in an Italian Bread Bowl

Okay, so what I loved about this meal is that you can make it as quickly or as longly (I know that that is not a word, but go with me) as you want. If you have nothing on your agenda for the day, take the long route. Making bread bowls sounded a little overwhelming to me at first. It was, however, quite fun and made the soup all the more special. If you're short on time, you can buy bread bowls at your grocery store, or if you're really pressed, forget the bread bowls! The soup is still delicious!! So here ya go!

Italian Bread Bowls

(courtesy of mykitchencafe.blogspot.com, adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

7 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

Combine warm water and yeast in mixer. Let sit for 5 - 10 minutes until dissolved.

Next add salt, oil, and 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth with Kitchen Aid Mixer's paddle. Once smooth, change to Kitchen Aid Mixer's dough hook. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time. You want the dough to end up being sticky to the touch, but not stick to you. So add enough flour until it get's to that point. I only used a total of 6 1/2 cups of flour.

Remove dough from mixer and knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth.

Spray the inside of a bowl with PAM. Wipe the inside of the bowl with the ball of dough to coat and place the dough (greased side up) in the bowl.

Cover with a clean towel.

Let the dough rise until doubled. This takes about 45 minutes. Then divide into 6 - 8 equal pieces. Form individual balls. Sprinkle with corn meal. Let rise for an additional 35 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Now for the soup - the quick and easy part!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

(courtesy of mykitchencafe.blogspot.com, adapted very slightly from Liz K.)

1 can chicken broth

1 small onion, diced

1/3 c. flour

1/4 c. butter

Pepper to taste

2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese

steamed chopped broccoli

First you chop the onions. Toss onions along with chicken broth in a stock pot. Simmer until onions are tender.

Then you MAKE A ROUX. Haha! Okay, so you melt your butter, add the flour, until well mixed. Oh, in the meantime, heat your milk in the microwave. Okay, so add your milk to the rue. Keep on stirring until the milk thickens. Once thickened, add to onions in stock pot.

Steam some broccoli.

Grate cheese. Approximately 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (the sharper, the better) and 1/2 cup of swiss cheese.

Once the broccoli is steamed and the cheese is grated, toss it in the stock pot.