Tuesday I promised my beautiful diva that I would take her to see “Tangled”.  After work I was going to pick her up from my mothers and we were heading to the movie theater (during the week it’s only $5 all day long) and I had decided we would have soup and sandwiches for dinner.  Mentally I try to plan dinners at the beginning of the week so that I can make sure I have everything I need or if I have to stop at the store one day I know what I need to get. 

Now…the day started out just great – we were moving along at a reasonable time (meaning we weren’t going to be late) and the temperature was really nice (we could walk outside with a fleece and vest and not freeze).  But when I got to work , I learned that one of my closest work friends was leaving the company (I knew it was coming just wasn’t ready for it this soon) and everyone was going to lunch.  I had brought in turkey potpie  (homemade from the day before) and REALLY wanted to eat it, plus I figured I was going to leave at 4:30 to make sure I got my baby to the show on time; but this was my buddy.  I needed to do lunch.  I went to lunch. 

Boy am I glad I went…the  temperature was dropping.  I meaning really dropping.  The vest I had on, even if with it being fur-lined, was not cutting it.  And I was thinking I had only put my baby in a fleece and vest! 😦  My mother was going to kill me when she saw Kristian.  By the time I left for work, the temperature was on its way to 28 degrees and all we had on was a stupid vest.  I stopped by the house first to get our coats, then huffed it over to my mothers, got my “pretty girl” and dashed off to the movie theater. 

The movie was really good…Kristian laughed loudly and infectiously making some others around us laugh with her.  If you haven’t seen it and have young ones it’s a must see. 

For dinner…I had decided to make Cream of Broccoli Cheese soup with ham and cheese Panini’s.  When it gets cold outside I become the soup and panini queen.  All versions of soup – broccoli cheese, chicken noodle, chicken & rice, butternut squash, homemade tomato, chowders – and on and on. 

I had some fresh broccoli florets left over from my catering job the week before and I wanted to use them before they went bad and  Stan had gotten a ham when he got home last weekend that I was thinking of ways to utilize.  Kristian loves broccoli cheese soup and loves ham even more; so she was completely ecstatic about my menu selection.  My version of this soup came from the Taste of Home website I added the cheese to it, but it is really good and super easy.   Here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy.

Cream of Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp. finely chopped onion

2 10oz pkg of frozen broccoli florets or equal amounts of fresh (about 2 1/2 cups)

2 cups of evaporated milk

2 cups of sour cream

1 can each of cream of celery and cream of mushroom soup

3 oz of velveeta cheese

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese 

1 tbsp of parsley

1 tsp pepper

Place broth, onion and broccoli in soup pot; bring to boil and allow to simmer until broccoli is tender/crisp.  Meanwhile combine soups, milk, and sour cream in a bowl and cube cheese.  Add cheese to broccoli/ onion mixture and allow the cheese to melt.  Add soup mixture and heat through on low heat.  Add parsley and pepper; heat 10 minutes longer; then serve.