Brocolli Cheese Soup

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-1/2 lbs fresh broccoli crowns
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 lb chunk of american cheese, cubed
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water (for pre-mixing the cornstarch)

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until soft. Stir in broccoli and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Reduce heat, stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk and garlic powder.

In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved (DO NOT ADD CORNSTARCH POWDER DIRECTLY TO SOUP). Stir cornstarch mixture into soup, cook, stirring frequently until thick. If saved, soup will be thicker the second day, after cooling/re-heating. You can try the trick of pureeing some french bread to make soup thicker from the start.