3 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
2 cups cooking onions, chopped
3 cups redskin potatoes, unpeeled and diced
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp. soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. dry oriental mustard
2 tsp. black pepper, finely ground
2 (10 oz. ea.) packages frozen chopped broccoli
1/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into chunks

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and add the garlic, stirring for 2 minutes or until garlic softens -- do not brown. Add celery, carrots, onions and potatoes. Stir to mix, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth, soy sauce (or Worcestershire), dry mustard and black pepper and stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the broccoli, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to thoroughly mix.

Stir in all or a portion of the mashed potato flakes at this point to thicken the broth (recommended). Add the canned cream of chicken soup, stir and heat, covered, for 5 minutes to bring the temperature back up. Slice the Velveeta into 5 or 6 chunks, depositing them throughout the soup and cover, giving the cheese time to melt. Stir thoroughly to mix the cheese throughout the pot then cover and simmer on very low heat for 20 minutes to half an hour stirring every ten minutes to prevent scorching.

This soup ages well.

Submitted by: David Bradley