When life is a little chaotic, I always seem to turn to a handful of short cuts and my hand crock pot to do some of the heavy lifting in the kitchen for me. One of my most common hand helpers is to use Kraft Natural Cheese Shreds in recipes such as this so that I don't have to spend the time grating the cheese myself. So, that's exactly what I used here.

This better-for-you soup starts out with a blend of vegetables, broth, milk, and simple seasonings that come together simply and easily to make one delicious cheesy and balanced meal in a bowl.

I mean, what's more balanced or perfect together than broccoli and cheese?

I love that this is one of those 'set and forget' recipes that I can throw in the crock pot in the morning or afternoon before things get crazy. This soup takes little prep and once it's done you have an entire meal ready and waiting for you at the end of a busy day.

Plus, with well under 300 calories in a full serving, you just can't go wrong here!

I used fresh onion, carrot and celery in my soup, but if you have some or all of these vegetables in frozen form, they too would work just as well for this soup! On the opposite end, I used frozen broccoli here, but you could swap that for fresh if you desire. It won't matter one way or another in the end.

I topped mine with a few shaves of a mild cheddar straight off the block for just that little bit of added cheesy goodness.

Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 4 • Size: About 1 1/2 Cup • Calories: 268.7 • Fat: 9.1 g • Carb: 22 g • Fiber: 3.9 g • Protein: 18.9 g • Sugar: 11.4 g • Sodium: 876.8 mg

Ingredients:
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 Carrot, Chopped
1 Celery, Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Tbsp. White Whole Wheat Flour
3 C. Reduced Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 C. Fat Free Evaporated Milk
4 C. Broccoli Florets, Fresh or Frozen
1 Tbsp. Spicy Brown or Stone Ground Mustard
1 C. Kraft Natural Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 C. Kraft Natural Finely Shredded Reduced Fat 2% Cheddar Cheese
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions

Place all of the ingredients into the crock pot except for the cheese; being sure to whisk the flour in until no lumps remain.

Secure the lid and cook over low for about 6 hours or until the vegetables are all tender.

If you feel like it, you can use an immersion blender to puree some of the vegetables to have a less chunky soup. This is my preference, but isn't needed at all!

Also, if you're going to leave this cooking for any longer than 6 hours, leave out the evaporated milk and add it in about an hour before serving. This will keep it from cuddling at all.

Now it's time for the cheese!

Speaking of cheese, just look at that glorious cheese section at my local Walmart where I was able to find both the shreds and the chunk/block cheese! I was also able to find everything else I needed for this recipe here in this same store.

Once ready, add in the cheese and stir until the cheese has melted entirely.

The cheese should melt right away, giving you this lovely creamy broccoli and cheese soup.