Staying warm with super-secret soup

We all know the type: Super cute, less than 3-feet-tall and hungry.
Your child is not necessarily unique in stature or interests, or even in that annoying habit to turn his or her nose up to the often-green vegetables that can help them grow and stay healthy.

Soup is wonderful for sneaking veggies into your little one’s diet with the added bonus of warming someone up during the winter. With so many soups, it’s a great thing to serve either as a meal or side dish when trying to get a persnickety child to eat something good for them!

People began enjoying soups long ago. The first types of soup can be dated by to about 6,000 B.C. In America, the liquid treat was included in the first colonial cookbook published in Virginia in 1742. Thirty years later it was the topic of an entire chapter in a cookbook called “The Frugal Housewife.” The beauty about soup is the ability for it to change as access to new ingredients became easily available. Even without a recipe, soups can be a fun challenge for you and your family. Maybe it’s a way to serve a vegetable your little one already loves in another form.
Today let’s try a broccoli soup with homemade croutons through this food network recipe. This should create about four to six servings.

Ingredients
4 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup cream

Directions

1. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy medium pot over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, onion, carrot, salt, and pepper and sauté until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.
2. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, until the flour reaches a blond color.
3. Add stock and bring to boil.
4. Simmer uncovered until broccoli is tender, about 15 minutes. Pour in cream.
5. With an immersion blender, puree the soup.
6. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and then replace the lid back on the pot. Serve hot with homemade croutons.

Homemade Croutons

Day old French bread
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut bread into cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzl cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix well.
Spread seasoned bread onto a sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes.