cheesy veggie and broccoli soup

Another "I need help with the simplest recipe." My struggle cooking dinner today included not being able to figure out "simmering until slightly thickened". What does slightly thickened mean? STRUGGGGGGLE.

I LOVE love love love cheese and broccoli soup. My Grandpa Fred always makes it for me when I visit them in Alabama (which will happen in a few weeks! Eeeeeee!).

I thought this dish would be similar to Grandpa Fred's, yet different enough that I wouldn't compare it to his soup exactly. Maybe it was sort of different enough, but when I was struggling with the "slightly thickening" I thought, how does Grandpa DO this...? After tripling the amount of flour in the recipe and adding a splash of heavy cream (which is what thickened the sauce in my basil pasta dish), I got the cheese sauce thicker... somehow. (However I thought the sauce was a little grainy, not a smooth, creamy texture... was that because of the extra flour? or because of the over cooked potatoes?).

The recipe I found on pinterest:
http://luluthebaker.blogspot.com/2011/09/cheesy-vegetable-chowder.html

Ingredients that I used:
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
2 large baking potatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup water
2/3 milk
splash of heavy cream
4 cups broccoli, chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups of fiesta and taco blend shredded cheese

The course I took:

Waiting and waiting for it to thicken.

Saute onions and carrots in a large soup pot. When they are tender, add garlic and cook 1-3 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add some spices that seem appropriate. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.

Add more flour mixed with water, and continue to wait for it to slightly thicken. Add milk. Add more flour mixed with water and a splash of heavy cream. Realize the potatoes are supposed to be peeled. The potatoes are falling a part and the potato skins are mixed in the soup. Add broccoli until it is tender.

Stir in cheddar cheese. Add all the shredded cheese you can find in the fridge to make it really cheesy, including fiesta and taco cheese blend. Allow to melt, serve!

Thick and cheesy broccoli soup!

Next time improvements:
1. Add lemon pepper with appropriate spices. I remember Grandpa Fred telling me that it made the difference for his cheese and broccoli soup.
2. Peel potatoes before chopping them.
3. Add more cheddar cheese or difference cheese instead of fiesta blend shredded cheese.
4. Add1 1/2-2 tablespoons of flour intentionally instead of 3 tablespoons randomly. Keep splash of heavy cream for thickening and creaminess.
5. Grate carrots instead of chopping them in an awkward fashion.
6. Get Grandpa Fred to write down the recipe for me and follow his recipe.

To make it all better, when Ryan had some, his first reaction was, "This is good!" So I will probably make this again with the improvements!