Broccoli Cheese Soup

I grew up as a vegetarian (I asked my parents where pork came from one night when I was about 5, and didn't eat any kind of meat again until I was about 16) and even though the rest of my family was not vegetarian, my mom always made sure I got my protein and ate well balanced meals. I'm sure buying and making special foods all the time for me wasn't always that easy or cheap especially with three other kids to feed, so thanks Mom! :)  Going out to eat was sometimes a little difficult too, but Chili's was always one of my favorites because of their yummy broccoli cheese soup. I am so dissapointed that they don't have it anymore!  Anways, I searched for a copycat recipe online last week and I only found a few and they all had "processed cheese loaf" aka Velveeta which I am not a big fan of. After having changed to natural/organic foods over the past few years I try to stay away from processed foods. I'm sure they probably use Velveeta or something similiar in Chili's broccoli cheese soup recipe and yes it's very tasty but I figured if I was making a homemade version I would stick with real cheese. My version didn't taste exactly like Chili's but it was really really good nontheless.

Ingredients
1/3 cup real butter
1 white or yellow onion, chopped
1 medium to large head of broccoli, chopped (I got about 4 cups of florets out of it but I wanted a good amount of broccoli in my soup. You can also use frozen broccoli)
1 (32oz) carton of vegetable broth
18-24 oz shredded cheddar cheese depending on how cheesy you want it (this would be about 1 1/2 to 2 bags or you can shred your own cheese from a block-this melts better since there are no anti-caking agents added to it)
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
salt
pepper
chopped tomatoes for topping

Directions
1. In a large pot, melt the butter and then add the onion. Cook until softened
2. Add the broccoli and vegetable broth and simmer until the broccoli is tender
3. Reduce the heat and add the cheese. Stir until melted
4. Mix in the milk, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste
5. Whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small cup or bowl until dissolved. Stir into the soup  until it thickens
6. Puree soup with an immersian blender to desired consistancy (I didn't want huge chunks of broccoli so I pureed mine a little. But if you would rather not puree it, you can skip this step and your soup is ready to serve.)
7. Top with chopped tomatoes and more cheese if desired



Recipe source: adapted from GoodVeg on Squidoo