Cream of Broccoli Soup

I made this creamy, delicious soup for dinner a couple of weeks ago. While broccoli isn't in season, buying frozen broccoli is a close second, for this recipe. This is a quick and delicious meatless option for dinner when paired with fried cornbread patties, or piping hot rolls. I'm sorry to say that I neglected to photograph this. Let's begin cooking, shall we?

1 family sized bag of frozen broccoli, or you can use a large bunch of fresh, thawed in the microwave for about 3 minutes.
1 can reduced sodium chicken stock/broth
1 quart of half and half (In an effort to reduce calories you could use 2% milk)
1/2 of a large onion, chopped finely. (I sometimes grate mine with a cheese grater!)
3-4 tbsp. unsalted butter
3-4 tbsp. all purpose flour
salt & pepper to taste

 Let's begin by melting the butter in dutch oven, or similar deep pot. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and let cook for a minute or two, don't brown, then add the flour and let it cook for about a minute, carefully stirring so that it does not brown! We're aiming to remove the raw flour taste here, we're not making gravy! :)
 After the flour and butter combo have cooked for about a minute, add the chicken stock and half and half, or milk. Stir to combine, making sure you have no lumps. Salt and pepper to taste.
 Add a ladle, or two, of your not so hot liquid into the blender along with about 99% of your broccoli. Pulse to blend. You will have a very thick and very green consistency here, that's what we're looking for. Once you have pureed the broccoli, add the contents of your blender back to your pot and stir to combine. With the remaining broccoli chop it very finely, removing all stalks and using only the tops. Add to your pot.
 Simmer on low until the soup is heated through and through, and becomes thick.

Bon appetit!