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.

Lunch Today

This afternoon I decided to give my quiche recipe a whirl. As it baked, I made myself some lunch with the leftover ingredients, since they were sitting out already. Sandwiches are boring, so I decided to make myself a couple wraps, just to mix things up a little bit.

Layer 1 - flour tortilla.
Layer 2 - basil mayo leftover from the burgers. I don't know about you guys, but when I make wraps or soft shell tacos or anything like that, I like to put a little sauce on the bottom, to kind of act as a glue.
Layer 3 - diced mushrooms. I'm trying so hard to be a big girl and eat mushrooms. It's slow going, though, since I still think they're kind of gross. I try to sneak them in wherever I can.
Layer 4 - baby spinach. And lots of it - spinach is one of my favorite vegetables, I think.
Layer 5 - sliced ham.

Yummy, simple, and filling!

Basil Turkey Burgers

As I mentioned before, ground turkey was an incredibly good deal, so we stocked up. Now we've got five pounds of turkey in the freezer and no clue what to do with it.

One lovely solution is to make a turkey burger. There are about a thousand different varieties - I know, because I looked at most of them. Each recipe sounds incredibly delicious, but I kept running into the same problem - I was missing one essential ingredient.

I finally found a recipe for Basil Turkey Burgers. I've got fresh basil in the garden, so I thought, "hey, why not?"

BASIL TURKEY BURGERS

Photo courtesy of Aric.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil, divided
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 pound lean ground turkey
• 4 hamburger buns, split
• 4 lettuce leaves
• 1 large tomato, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon basil. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
   
2. Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill.
   
3. In a bowl, combine the milk, onion, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and remaining basil. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into four patties.
4. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until meat is no longer pink and a thermometer reads 165 degrees F. Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato and basil mayonnaise.

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY
1) I didn't include the mayo, because the mayo we have is...well...let's just say that we don't know how old it is.
2) I didn't include the tomato because I hate raw tomato.
3) Instead of milk (which we're also unsure of the age), we used an egg. Apparently eggs are good substitutes when you need a "binder." A word of caution - one egg is too much. Try half an egg.
4) I don't have plain breadcrumbs, but I do have Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. So tasty!
5) We cooked this on a Foreman grill. I believe it cooked for about 6 minutes, but don't quote me on it - Aric is the grill master.


The burgers were deliciously moist. The basil is adds a subtle sweetness, but is quite bold at the same time. I used a red onion, which gave the burgers a bit of a kick, but not too much.

I also picked some lettuce leaves from the garden, and the lettuce is a little bitter. It was a beautiful contrast to the sweetness of the burger.

When we make these again (which I know we will), I don't know if I'll try for the basil mayo. It was all so tasty by itself, I don't really think it needs another level of flavor.

Adventures in Cooking - Hummus

I am a nut for garbanzo beans. Always have been, always will be. I suspect part of my love of garbanzo beans is the name - garbanzo. It's funny, and makes me think of Gonzo from The Muppets.

When I was little I called them chick peas, because I guess "garbanzo" was hard to say. It took me awhile to realize that the two are the same thing, actually.

I've also liked hummus for awhile. I found it in the grocery store one day and got really curious. It didn't look especially appetizing, but how do you turn down garbanzos and garlic? It's a match made in heaven, really.

Ever since I got my baby food processor (with the plans of making pesto - which never happened), I've been itching to make some hummus. All the recipes I found called for tahini, which is crazy expensive where I live. I can't justify spending that much money for a dip (even one that I love enough to marry). I mean, I could buy store-made hummus cheaper than I could buy the tahini, nevermind the rest of the ingredients.

So when I found the recipe for tahini-free hummus, OF COURSE I had to try it!

BASIL AND PESTO HUMMUS

INGREDIENTS
1 (16 oz.) can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. EVOO
1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
1) Combine garbanzo beans, basil, and garlic in food processor. Pulse several times.
2) Use a spatula to push mixture from the sides of the bowl.
3) Pulse mixture again while drizzling in the olive oil.
4) Add the vinegar and soy sauce. Pulse until combined.
5) Season with salt and pepper.
6) Serve and enjoy!

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY
This recipe needs a LOT more EVOO to really come together. I don't have an exact measurement of how much I used - I just kind of poured it in until the consistency looked right.
The hummus also needed a little punch to kind of brighten it up, so I squeezed in a little lemon juice - I squeezed in the juice from 1/4 of a lemon. It really helped everything go to a whole other level. It was complex without being overpowering or too heavy. Really tasty.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Easy easy easy to make. Relatively cheap, too. I plan on gifting this to friends, it is so easy and delicious.