Cheesy Broccoli Veggie Soup

I made this soup the other day and it's pretty good. It's a tweak on the regular broccoli soup I make, which is just broccoli, but for this batch I added other veggies. To start off with I chopped up 4 big crowns of broccoli and their stems. Since everything is going to get pureed later anyways, it doesn't really matter the size. If you have a little helper who wants to attempt to further chop it up with his butter knife, he can have at it! Also, when I told him that broccoli isn't good to eat raw, but is much better cooked, he ate quite a few pieces and declared them "yummy" just to spite me. Joke's on him, he just ate a ton of raw broccoli!

Cheesy Broccoli Veggie Soup
This was a giant pot, feel free to halve the recipe for a normal sized pot.

2 T oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
5 medium carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
4-5 crowns broccoli, chopped
4-6 potatoes, peeled and chopped (optional, leave out for lower carb, I usually put these in but not this time)
1-2 Tablespoons bouillon powder or paste. I love Better than Bouillon and used Chicken flavor

black pepper
red pepper flakes
8 ounces shredded cheddar
4 ounces shredded gouda
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream (optional, I'd probably leave it out next time)

In large pot, saute onion and celery in oil until fragrant. Add the rest of the vegetables and water to almost cover. Don't add too much water, I did this time and was disappointed in the runny-ness of my soup. Add bouillon paste and stir well to dissolve.

Bring to simmer, cover, and reduce heat. Cook for 20 minutes or so or until all vegetables are fork tender.

Take the soup off the heat and place on a stable surface. Using your stick blender, blend the soup until it is the consistency you like. I like mine very smooth! Add cheeses and return to heat. Add black and red pepper to taste. It shouldn't need any salt from the bouillon and cheese, but taste for salt too. Add cream just before serving if using it.

Optional: crumbled bacon, chopped ham, chopped parsley and/or sour cream for serving