Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Potato Soup

I was desperate last week.  We’d entered Cheesefare week, the last week before Great Lent begins for Orthodox Christians.  I had some cauliflower that begged to be used up or else it was moving to the trash can.  I needed it to be milk and cheese based and taste decadent because during lent we eat vegan soups.

This was a complete experiment.  I had no idea how it was going to turn out.  It ended up being a complete and total success.  Turtlegirl declared it “postable and the title should include the words extremely delicious”.  Tailorbear agrees “very delicious.”

You’ll Need:

• 1 Head of Cauliflower, cleaned and broken into bite size pieces
• about 6 potatoes peeled and cut into slightly bigger than bite size pieces
• 1 large carrot, diced (yes we peeled it too!)
• 1 Knorr Veggie Bullion cube
• 2 teaspoons salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
• 1 (10 1/2 oz.) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
• enough water to cover the veggies

What to Do:

• Combine cauliflower, potatoes, and carrot in large stock pot.  Add water to cover veggies.
• When water comes to a boil, add in the bouillon cube and turn down heat.  Simmer until veggies are are nice and tender
• When veggies are tender, add salt and pepper, stir in evaporated milk and the cheese soup. 
• Continue to simmer until heated through, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

This nearly filled my 6 quart stock pot and nearly everyone had at least 2 bowls.  I think one or two took a third helping as well. 

When I make this again, I’m going to play with making a cheese sauce using butter, flour, milk cream cheese, cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese to substitute for the canned cheddar cheese soup.