Broccoli soup experiment update

This week, I repeated the broccoli soup experiment at work to use up the broccoli stem pieces and broccoli buds left over from prepping the big box of broccoli. I discovered that my estimate of the amount of soup created by my original recipe was WAY off. I think I meant to write six servings and not six quarts. It made about two quarts. Nowhere near enough for a restaurant, so I repeated the recipe with broccoli florets standing in for the broccoli stems. Here's the final write-up of the recipe as it turned out at work:

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Potato and Cheddar Cheese

2 pounds broccoli stems
2 pounds broccoli florets
2 cups broccoli buds
5 or 6 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
10 cups chicken stock
10 cups whole milk
2 tsp black pepper (we didn't have white pepper, which I would have preferred)
9 to 10 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp butter
salt to taste

Cook broccoli stems, potatoes and onion in stock until starting to get tender, add broccoli florets and cook until tender. Make a not-so-smooth puree with an immersion blender. Add milk and pepper and heat through. Add broccoli buds and cheese and butter and stir until cheese is melted. Season with salt to taste.
Yield: 4 or 5 quarts

This amount still isn't enough to last through a busy lunch day, but it's something we could start with. The way this would work in the future as a broccoli-stems-only soup would be to save up stems and buds from 3 or 4 boxes of broccoli (both freeze well), then make a double batch of this soup recipe (minus the florets) when eight pounds of stems have accumulated. Otherwise, it could always be a stems-and-florets recipe as above, made after every other box of broccoli.