Cheeseburger Soup

It's summer, and what does that mean? Almost everyone and their mom will be outside grilling delicious smelling steaks, hamburgers, and hotdogs. Just wondering though, do you ever get tired of the same old grilled burger? You want something that will fill you up and taste delicious but at the same time you want a cheeseburger? Well, then you should try cheeseburger soup. Yes, cheeseburger soup. I know it sounds nasty, and trust me I am a picky eater but when I had this it blew me away. It travels good, is great reheated, and super easy to make. You should try this on a nice rainy day when you can't get outside to grill.

Ingredients

(8 servings, double these for 16, and so on.)

• ½ pound of ground beef
• ¾ cup of chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 4 cups dice peeled potatoes
• 1/3cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (8ounces) Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 11/2 cups of milk
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Optional

• ¾ cup of diced celery
• ¾ cup of shredded carrots
• ¾ cup of unsweetened corn

Directions

First you'll want to brown your meat, to keep the soup non-greasy try washing the meat off after you brown it. Season your meat however you like, we use all-purpose seasoning salt. Now set the meat aside. We usually have carrots and corn in ours, but if you choose to not include it skip this step. Saute the onion, corn, carrots, basil, and parsley in one tablespoon of butter until thevegetablesare tender, this process normally takes roughly five to ten minutes.

Add the broth, potatoes, and beef. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for another ten to fifteen minutes or until the potatoes are nice and tender. While that is simmering, in another small skillet, melt remaining butter, add flour and stir for three to five minutes or until it's bubbly. Add that to the simmering soup, bring to a boil. Cook for an additional two minutes, reduce the heat to low. Now stir in the cheese, milk, salt, and pepper.

Wait for it to cool and then serve! My family loves to eat nacho chips with cheeseburger soup because it makes a really nice dip. We also fry up some bacon to crumble on the top. You can eat it poured over homemade cornbread, or with saltine crackers. It's all in a matter of what you want to eat with it. Enjoy!