Cheeseburger Soup

Happy New Year! I hope everyone is finally shoveled out from the Christmas blizzard. It was a pretty awesome task. (Almost as awesome as uploading anything to Blogger this weekend. Am I the only person having issues?)

That was my brother's car. And this was my parents' backyard.

I don't think they'll be grilling anytime soon. We got just slightly less snow in Fargo, so when the interstate opened and the hubby and I made it home, we had to hike through the snow drifts in the driveway with the baby and the pups, because the SUV couldn't make it through. The hubby spent more than three hours of quality time with the snowblower -- and we have a small driveway.

The little man and I have both been sick this week, so we've been lying low. We stayed in our jammies and watched movies. And I spent hours teaching him how to stick out his tongue. He starts daycare on Monday. I thought this would be an important skill when he meets the other kids.

I still have a raging cold this weekend, and woke up to this on my friendly neighborhood WeatherBug this morning.

I have three words for you: "Soup." And "grocery delivery."

This is a recipe from Cuisine at Home, made with a few omissions and substitutions because said soup will be made before said grocery delivery. This is a half-day slow cooker recipe, and I'm sure it could be easily adapted for the stovetop -- just simmer until the veggies are tender.

Cheeseburger Soup
Serves 6

4 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. lean ground beef
Salt and pepper
1 c. diced onion
3/4 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced carrot
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. milk (I used skim)
3 c. chicken broth
2 c. peeled, diced potatoes
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used 75% reduced fat, which was much better in the soup than it was by itself)
Additional salt and pepper, to taste

1. Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add ground beef, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until meat begins to brown.

2. Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and basil. Cook 5 minutes.

P.S. I did not have any celery.

3. Add flour and stir. Cook 1 minute.

4. Stir in milk until mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil, and then cook 2 minutes. The mixture will be thick, kind of like milk gravy.

5. Transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in broth and potatoes.

6. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese before serving.