Cheeseburger Soup

My Aunt Janet calls me several times a month, just to catch up and see what's going on with my life. Our conversations usually revolve around two things: our wacky cats and our favorite recipes.

I enjoy trying out my aunt's recipes because she's very much a penny pincher. Her recipes are incredibly cheap to make. When a recipe calls for one pound of ground beef, she usually only uses half a pound. And it works! Aunt Janet is very much in favor of replacing meat with beans or other proteins.

When she mentioned cheeseburger soup, I was immediately curious. I'd never heard of it before. And I do love cheeseburgers, so I had to know. She emailed me the recipe and a few days later I gave it a try.

It was delicious, although it did remind me more of a creamy, slightly cheesey potato soup with a hint of ground beef. When I make it again, I think I will add more cheese, or perhaps try a sharp cheddar, instead of just plain cheddar.

Cheeseburger Soup
(via Aunt Janet)

Ingredients
1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parlsey
4 tbsp. butter
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/4 cup flour
2 cups cubed cheddar cheese
1.5 cups milk
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions
1) In a large pot, melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Cook and stir vegetables and beef until beef is brown.
2) Stir in basil and parlsye. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
3) Melt the remainder of the butter in a small pot. When melted, stir in the flour, then add the milk, stirring until smooth.
4) Gradually add the milk mixture to the soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Stir in cheese. When cheese is melted, add sour cream and heat through - do not boil.
5) Serve and enjoy!

I think chopping up some green onion and sprinkling that on top would be a lovely addition to the soup, as well as adding some fun color.

I have also been told that this soup freezes and reheats well, although I have yet to test this for myself.