Better Than Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup - The Vintage Modern Wife

Ingredients

• 2 bunches of broccoli (one chopped roughly, the other chopped into very small pieces)
• ½ cups shredded carrots
• 1 small sweet yellow onion (minced)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (freshly shredded)
• 1 cup smoked gouda (freshly shredded)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 cup half and half
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp. dried basil
• salt and pepper (to taste, depending on saltiness of cheese)