Broccoli and Chicken Noodle Soup

If the broccoli florets are large, break into smaller pieces at the stalk instead of chopping them; they'll cook more quickly. Count on having dinner on the table in about 40 minutes, and serve this soup the moment it's done for the best results. In fact, if you wait, you'll find it gets thicker with time. If you have leftovers, you will want to thin the soup with a little chicken broth or milk to the desired consistency.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 1  cup  presliced mushrooms
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 3  tablespoons  butter
• 1.1  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1/4 cup)
• 4  cups  1% low-fat milk
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 4  ounces  uncooked vermicelli, broken into 2-inch pieces
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded light processed cheese (such as Velveeta Light)
• 4  cups  (1-inch) cubed cooked chicken breast
• 3  cups  small broccoli florets (8 ounces)
• 1  cup  half-and-half
• 1  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt

Preparation

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; add butter to mushroom mixture, stirring until butter melts. Sprinkle mushroom mixture with flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gradually add milk and broth, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Add pasta to pan; cook 10 minutes. Add cheese to pan, and stir until cheese melts. Add chicken and remaining ingredients to pan; cook 5 minutes or until broccoli is tender and soup is thoroughly heated.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

317

Fat:

12.3g (sat 6.8g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.9g)

Protein:

27.5g

Carbohydrate:

23.8g

Fiber:

1.9g

Cholesterol:

74mg

Iron:

1.6mg

Sodium:

723mg

Calcium:

179mg