Christmas Notebook

I read a quite a few recipes for cheeseburger soup, looking for one that sounded right to me. I chose one for the crock pot. I followed the recipe somewhat, but in the end, I did my own thing. Is that a surprise?? I made the soup on the stove top in an 8 quart stock pot and didn’t measure everything, so the following is an educated guess.

Cheeseburger Soup

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced (use more if you like) [I used Yukon Gold.]
3/4 c. carrots, sliced
3/4 c. celery, diced
2 T. dry onion flakes (or 3/4 c. chopped onion)
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. dry parsley
2 pounds ground round, browned [I don’t like fattier beef, but use what you prefer.]
32 oz. chicken broth
2 c. cubed American cheese
1-2 c. milk or a combo of milk, half ‘n half, and/or cream
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 T. flour + water [I put the flour in a mug, added water, and stirred with a fork till well blended / no lumps.]
8 oz. sour cream (light sour cream is fine)

To begin, heat about 2″ of water in the stock pot. While the water is heating, prepare the veggies.

Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, basil and parsley to the water and bring back to a boil. Check pot to be sure there is enough water to just cover the veggies. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, till veggies are soft. Do not drain the veggies.

While the veggies cook, brown the ground beef. If needed, drain well to remove grease.

Add the remaining ingredients to the simmering veggies, except the sour cream. Stir well, bring back to a simmer and cook until cheese is melted.

Stir the flour and water together until well blended. Add to the soup, stirring well and cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until soup has thickened.

Remove from heat, add sour cream, stir well and serve.

If you want to, you can first saute the veggies in a skillet, using a tablespoon of butter or oil, then add them to the stock pot after the potatoes are cooked through. I didn’t bother with that step. Takes more time, which I didn’t want to invest.

Soup recipes like this one can be totally revised to your liking. More meat, less meat. More veggies, fewer veggies. Other spices/herbs. More salt. Whatever. Another delicious additive would be 8 oz. of French onion dip instead of the sour cream. Prairie Farms is my preferred brand. You can also add chopped lettuce and tomatoes to the soup, if you like. Depends on what you like on your cheeseburger. 🙂

My recipe made a lot, which is good for us, because it makes plenty of leftovers for a quick supper or a nice lunch. The soup was delicious. DD loved it and we’ll be making it again soon.

~~Rhonda