Velveeta Beer Cheese Broccoli, Spinach, and Cabbage Soup With Steamed Bagels

I am in college and I recently got a Ninja Foodi as a gift and so I have been trying to use it more often and one of my favorite new ways to use it is to make one pot soups with a bread side. To this, I made Velveeta Beer Cheese Broccoli, Spinach, and Cabbage Soup with Everything Bagels. I try to include the most ingredients I can into each soup and this one is no different. I especially like this soup because the flavor is uniformly cheesy without overdoing it as the vegetables balance out the velveeta. I use beer in the recipe just for the sharp/almost aged flavor note it gives to the cheese (all alcohol evaporates during cooking).

NOTE: the ingredients for each step are listed with that step as well as combined in the Supplies step

NOTE: the steps for making the bagels follow start with overall recipe Step 7 (labeled Step 7: Bagels - 1: Autolyze)

Supplies

Utensils:

Spatula
Ninja Foodi 10 in 1 5 quart Pressure Cooker/ Air Fryer (referred to in this recipe as just "Ninja Foodi")
Measuring cups and spoons
Plates
Bowls

The 3 soup ingredient teams:

1. Soup Base:

Sweet Onion: 1/2 cup very finely chopped
All Purpose Flour: 5 tablespoons
Butter/Margarine/Spread: 3 tablespoons

2. Soup Liquids:

Velveeta: 16 oz block
Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer (any cheap beer): 1 cup
Chicken Bouillon Cubes (I used Knorr): 2
Water: 4 cups
Milk (any percent): 2 cups

3. Soup Add-ins:

Frozen Chopped Broccoli: 16 oz bag
Frozen Chopped Spinach: 16 oz bag
Head of Cabbage: half head

Bagel Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 5.5 cups
Active Yeast: one package
Brown Sugar: 1.5 tablespoons for dough plus 1 tablespoon for steaming liquid
Salt: 2 teaspoons
Water: 2 cups for dough plus 1 cup for steaming liquid
Neutral oil (canola, olive): 1 tablespoon for dough plus an amount to coat the dough

Step 1: Soup - 1: Chopping What Is Not Chopped

Very finely dice to about 1/4 by 1/4 inch in size pieces

Chop cabbage head in half

Chop each half cabbage head in 6 "steaks"

Chop each cabbage steak into 3 parts (going for about 1 inch cabbage chunks)

I find it's easiest to cut and cook the entire cabbage head at the same time as the cabbage keeps well in sandwich bags.

Ingredients for this Step:

Soup Base:

Sweet Onion: 1/2 cup very finely chopped

Soup Add-ins:

Head of Cabbage: half head

Step 2: Soup - 2: Pressure Cooking the Add Ins

Cabbage:

Put all cabbage pieces into Ninja Foodi
Secure Pressure Cook lid and turn the steam release valve to Seal
Pressure cook on Hi for 2 minutes then Quick Release
Drain cabbage
Spread onto plates to allow for steam to come off and cabbage to cool quickly

Broccoli and Spinach

Put all both bags of vegetables into Ninja Foodi
Secure Pressure Cook lid and turn the steam release valve to Seal
Pressure cook on Hi for 1-1.5 minutes then Quick Release (2 minutes will make the broccoli mushy)
Drain vegetables
Spread onto plates to allow for steam to come off and to cool quickly

What is Quick Release?

Quick Release is when you turn the steam release valve to Vent immediately once the Ninja Foodi timer goes off for steaming, pressure cooking, and etc. functions that build up pressure in the Foodi

What size Ninja Foodi?

I used a 5 quart one and the cabbage I really had to squeeze in but that doesn't matter as long as it fits. Otherwise, the 5 quart works perfectly for the rest of the soup so I would say any size Ninja Foodi.

Ingredients for this Step:

Soup Add-ins:

Frozen Chopped Broccoli: 16 oz bag
Frozen Chopped Spinach: 16 oz bag
Head of Cabbage: half head

Step 3: Soup - 3: Starting the Base

To the Ninja Foodi, add the onions and butter and sauté on a high setting until onions are soft/tender and completely translucent

Note: It is ok if the onions crisp up a little too much/brown

Next add the flour

This will make a very thick paste/scraggly mess

Ingredients for this Step:

Soup Base:

Sweet Onion: 1/2 cup very finely chopped
All Purpose Flour: 5 tablespoons
Butter/Margarine/Spread: 3 tablespoons

Step 4: Soup - 4: Incorporating the Soup Liquids

Add beer to thick paste made in last step

THEN add cubed velveeta

NOTE: velveeta has only one passion in life and that is to burn at the bottom of the pot at any given opportunity, if you put the velveeta first it will most likely burn before you know it
NOTE NOTE: CONSTANTLY stir the soup from now on to prevent the velveeta from burning on the bottom of the pot--- you will know it has burned when you feel with your spatula that the bottom of the pot is no longer smooth---if this happens just scrape it and continue but it will disperse overcooked velveeta into the soup

Once Velveeta melted add the water, milk, and bouillon cubes

Cook until bouillon cubes dissolve and the soup so far is thoroughly mixed

Ingredients for this Step:

Soup Liquids:

Velveeta: 16 oz block
Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer (any cheap beer): 1 cup
Chicken Bouillon Cubes (I used Knorr): 2
Water: 4 cups
Milk (any percent): 2 cups

Step 5: Soup - 5: Soup Addins

To the soup so far, add in all of the broccoli and spinach made before. Also add in about half of the one head of cabbage.

The amount of each add in is really up to individual preference, I sometimes add more or less of one depending on what I have left from a previous batch.

Other good add ins:

black eyed peas (if you want them soft, pressure cook alone for 3 minutes)
chicken
carrots (much like broccoli these will turn to mush very quickly)

Ingredients for this Step:

Soup Add-ins:

Frozen Chopped Broccoli: 16 oz bag
Frozen Chopped Spinach: 16 oz bag
Head of Cabbage: half head

Step 6: Soup - 6: Soup Complete!

You can now enjoy your Velveeta Beer Cheese Broccoli, Spinach, and Cabbage Soup! I like to serve it in a mug to hold and warm my hands.

If you want to add seasoning, I recommend using Tony Chachere's Seasoning to taste ( I use about half a tablespoon per cup soup which I add right before I eat each cup)

Step 7: Bagels - 1: Autolyze

(This can be done in the Ninja Foodi pot- I just used a bowl since I was cooking the vegetables at the same time)

To a bowl, add 4 cups of the flour along with 1.5 cups of water-- allow to sit for 1 hour

This step is called Autolyze: I do this because it helps speed the kneading time and makes it easier to knead by hand, however it can also help develop more complex flavors in bread doughs

Ingredients for this Step:

Bagel Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 4 cups (of 5.5 total)
Water: 1.5 cups (of 2 total for dough)

Step 8: Bagels - 2: Proof Yeast and Mix

How to proof the yeast:

In a cup, mix:
1/2 cup warm water (MAX 115 degrees (if its to warm for your skin its to warm for the yeast))
one packet of ACTIVE yeast
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
Let mixture set for 10 minutes
the yeast should foam up and rise dramatically in the cup and up the sides of the cup---if not, the yeast was not active enough or the water was too warm so start again

Add proofed yeast mixture plus 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar to autolyze from previous step--- mix to combine

Once combined, add salt, oil, and 1 cup of flour, use the rest of the flour to dust surface to knead the dough on

Knead until dough becomes smooth and elastic in texture (like a baby's bottom)

TIP: allow the dough to rest for a few minutes at a time and you will notice an improvement when you begin to knead again
At this point, you should be able to take about a golf ball sized portion of dough and stretch it between your fingers, you should be able to see light through the dough without it breaking apart
IF THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN: I spent like 20 minutes kneading this and while it held together for this test, it was not impressive by any means (not able to stretch till super thin without breaking), THIS IS OK (if you are happy with the bagels that are shown in this recipe)

Ingredients for this Step:

Bagel Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 1.5 cups (what is remaining after last step)
Active Yeast: one package
Brown Sugar: 1.5 tablespoon for dough
Salt: 2 teaspoons
Water: 1/2 cup (what is remaining after last step for dough)
Neutral oil (canola, olive): 1 tablespoon for the dough

Step 9: Bagel - 3: Double in Size

Liberally oil outside of dough ball and put into bowl

Cover with moist towel

Place in warm area like oven with light on until the dough just about doubles in size/until “doubled in bulk” which can be tested by poking a finger in dough without the dough springing back (takes about an hour)

Ingredients for this Step:

Bagel Ingredients:

Neutral oil (canola, olive): amount to coat the dough

Step 10: Bagel - 4: Divide and Rise

Divide the dough into about 10 equal portions

Poke a hole through each portion and make into bagel shape (mine are rectangular-ish because I cut the dough in rectangles to portion them)

Allow to rest for about half the time of the last rise (about 30 minutes): this second rise produces a finer grain in the dough

Step 11: Bagel - 5: Steam and Bake

Steaming the Bagels:

Into the Ninja Foodi Pot, pour 1 cup of water and 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar
Place the risen bagels onto the Ninja Foodi metal wrack
Secure the Pressure Cook lid and turn the steam release valve to Seal
Steam for 1 minutes then Quick Release
Remove the Pressure Cook lid

Baking the Bagels:

Pour the remaining liquid from the steaming into a cup for use in the next batch of bagels
Close the Air Frying lid, press Bake/Roast at 400 degrees for 7 minutes
Check for internal bagel temperature of about 180 degrees (occurs once about 4 minutes have passed)
Quickly wipe egg wash on one bagel at a time and add seasoning if so desired (egg needs to be done quickly so seasoning will stick)
Bagels are finished when internal temp is about 190 degrees (just about when timer ends)

Why steam and not boil the bagels before baking?

Even though I love bagels, they can be tough to eat with my jaw issues. Steaming the bagels instead of boiling produces a fluffier and less dense crumb that is easier to chew.

Why add brown sugar to the steam water?