I can make soup from scratch

We had a carry-in lunch last week, so I decided to try this soup my mom has made a couple of times. The last time she made it, she said it only took "a few minutes" and I foolishly believed her and decided to leave it until just before I left for work to prepare. Turns out a few minutes is more like an hour and a half for a novice chef like myself. In the end, it was pretty tasty. Below is a photo chronology of my adventure, and the recipe is at the bottom.

Chopping the onion with my new knife on my new cutting board.

I suddenly realized I didn't have a whisk, so I settled for the attachment from my mixer, which was not exactly comfortable.

And then I realized I forgot to check my catch-all drawer, where a real whisk was waiting.

Chopping baby carrots since I don't have a veggie grater.

Only I can manage to spill broccoli all over the counter and onto the floor when I cut open the bag. Shoot.

Starting to look yummy!

Shoot. Can someone please explain how I was supposed to get the hot mixture into the blender without spilling it all over my stove?

Love the puree setting!

Shoot. This is a huge part of why I rarely cook. And I'll be honest: This sat in my sink for about four days.

The finished product: pretty and delicious! AND I got it into the crockpot without spilling!

Because cooking is a major thing I need to work on in my independence project, this is probably the first of  many food excursions I'll include on here. For each one, I'll include the recipe at the bottom, along with my own rating system.

Total time: 1.5 hours
Shoot level (meaning number of times I said "shoot," more commonly known as degree of difficulty): 18
Worth it? Yes, but only if you have some great bread to go with it. And I still prefer the real thing from Panera in a bread bowl.

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

½ medium onion chopped
5 Tbs butter melted
¼ cup all-purpose four
2 cups half and half
2 cups chicken broth
8 oz broccoli coarsely chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
Salt and pepper
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Saute onion in 1 Tbs melted butter, set aside.  Using a wire whisk combine the remaining 4 Tbs melted butter and the flour in a large pot over medium heat.  Cook stirring frequently for about 4 minutes.  Slowly add the half-and-half, continue stirring.  Add chicken broth, whisking all the time.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the broccoli, carrots and sautéed onion.  Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  By now the soup should be thickened.  Pour in batches into a blender and puree.  Return the puree to the pot and place over low heat.  Add the grated cheese and stir until well blended.  Stir in the nutmeg.  Serves 4.