Slow Cooker Creamy Vegetable Soup

smellyvegetarian's Note:

This recipe is a slow cooker adaptation of Cream of Vegetable Soup by Maryland Jim, posted for the Crockpot Challenge portion of ZWT 8. The original recipe called for less broth, so if you prefer a thicker broth you can cut it back to 3 cups. As written here, this soup has a delightfully decadent flavor from the bechamel-style sauce but is actually quite light.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme, dried
• 1 cup green beans (fresh or frozen)
• 3/4 cup carrot, sliced
• 1/2 cup celery, sliced
• 1 cup broccoli (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Place vegetables, thyme, and chicken broth in a slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high.
2. About 20 minutes before serving, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
3. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until smooth, then slowly begin to add the milk.
4. Continue to stir constantly until the sauce thickens and clumps of flour are gone and the sauce has begun to thicken, then remove from heat.
5. If you are partial to pureed cream soups use an immersion blender to roughly chop the vegetables in your crock pot (you can also transfer to a blender, but be careful!).
6. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the vegetables mixture in the crock pot, and continue to cook until heated through.
7. This will keep beautifully on "warm" for quite a while if you need to prepare anything else before serving.