Broccoli, Cheesy, Potato Soup with Homemade Buttery Garlic Breadsticks

I apologize for getting this posted so late in the day.  The stomach bug seems to have made residence in our house and messed everything up.  Blah to a one year old barely able to hold down his water.  This day calls for comfort food; a bowl of soup and a homemade breadstick.  And I have to say, that these breadsticks are some of the best bread I have ever had the privilege to put my mouth on (and the soup’s not half shabby either).  Yummy!  Ok, soup first.  Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients Needed:

1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp of Butter
2 Cloves of Garlic
4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 Cups of Water
3 heaping tsps of Chicken Base*
1 Large head of broccoli, cut into pieces
3 Cups of Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste

*If you don’t have chicken base, you can use 5 cups of chicken broth instead.  You can also make this vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth or vegetable base.  Isn’t a versatile recipe great?!

Start by sauteing the onion and garlic in a large pan with your butter.  Cook onions for about 3-5 minutes and then add your cubed potatoes, water, and chicken base.  Bring mixture to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer covered for about 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, dump your broccoli into the pot, cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Now, if you have an emulsifier this would be the time to get it out.  If you don’t have one, bring out your blender and when dinner’s over, run out to the store and get yourself an emulsifier.  They’re indispensable!    Using your emulsifier, puree the soup in the pot until smooth.  If you don’t have an emulsifier, place your soup in batches into the blender and process until smooth.  Make sure you don’t fill the blender more than 1/3 full at a time and hold on TIGHT to the top.  Believe me, I learned the hard way.  Once your soup is pureed, with the heat on low, add in your cheese and stir to combine until melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  And that’s it!

But, of course, what’s soup without a delicious warm bread stick to dip into it?  Am I right?  Here’s what you’ll need to complete the meal:

Ingredients Needed:

1 Package of Active Dry Yeast
1/4 cup of sugar, divided
1 Cup of warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Salt
2 1/4 Cups Bread Flour
3/4 Cups Bread Flour
1/4 Cup (half a stick) of butter, softened
1 Tbsp of Parmesan Cheese
1/8 tsp of Garlic Powder

In a medium sized bowl, dissolve your yeast in 1 Tbsp of the 1/4 cup of sugar and the warm water.  To the yeast mixture add your oil, egg, the 2 1/4 cups of flour, and the remaining sugar.  Combine to form a dough.  Continue to add more flour 1/4 cup at a time until you have a nice, smooth, elastic dough.  It shouldn’t be sticky.  If it is, then add more flour.  You may not need the entire additional 3/4 cups.  Once you get your dough the correct consistency, knead it by hand on a floured surface for about 6 to 8 minutes.  Grease up your bowl, place the dough in it to get the top of the ball greased and then turn it over so the bottom gets greased.  Cover your dough and set it in a warm place to rise for about 50 minutes.  I like to turn my oven on for about a minute and then turn it off.  Make sure you can touch your hand to the side of the oven.  If you can’t, it’s too hot.  Let it cool until you can and then place your bread in to rise.  Once it’s risen, pull it out to shape the breadsticks.  It should look like this:

Let’s make some sticks!  Punch down the dough, turn it onto a floured surface and start to roll them out.  I just grabbed a handful of dough, floured it up and rolled it back and forth on the counter with my hands until I had the desired length; about 8-10 inches per stick.  Place them on a greased baking sheet and cover them again, letting them rise for another 25 minutes or so.  I again just placed them in my oven, still warm from the first rise.  After about 25 minutes, remove the cover and turn your oven on to 400 degrees.  I didn’t even remove my breadsticks.  I just left them in to cook as the oven preheated.   Cook them for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  While they’re cooking (and making your entire kitchen smell delicious!) mix together the butter, parm cheese, and garlic powder.  When the breadsticks are done, pull them out of the oven and spread the butter mixture on the sticks while they’re still hot.  And that’s it!  You have a yummy comfort food meal of soup and breadsticks.  Your husband will love you, your kids will love you and heck, you will love yourself for making such a great meal.