Saturday, January 2, 2010

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.

7 comments:

Donna-FFW said...

Wow, -29, I cant even begin to imagine that!! What a perfect meal choice for that kind of weather. I have yet to try cheeseburger soup, I have to soon. Happy New Year to you and keep warm!!

Judy said...

How well I remember the years when my boys were young. Seems like I was sick all the time, along with them. My heart goes out to you. Just remember, everything passes. You have a precious bundle of love to cherish for a long, long time.

pigpigscorner said...

When I read the title I thought u blended cheeseburgers..lol...this is grea for such cold weather! Get well soon.

Unknown said...

Look at all of that snow! We are in Texas and my almost 4 yr old twins were thrilled with just 0.0009 of an inch of snow for the holiday season.

Your blog is great. I too can rarely be found in the laundry room. As a matter of fact I dedicated a letter to my never ending laundry with 5 boys and a husband. Check it out. http://fourcrazychildren.blogspot.com/2009/11/dear-laundry.html.

The Cheeseburger Soup looks tasty!

Have a great week!

CC said...

Your cheeseburger soup looks and sounds amazing. I will have to try it. I can't imaging anything that cold. My husbands family was originally from North Dakota.. (Buxton and Hillsboro) and they often spoke of the deep snow and the awful cold. We're cold in Texas, but not like you. Stay warm..

Carrie @ Cottage Cozy said...

Looks yummy...How is the snow...Those were amazing pictures!

I hope you are all feeling better!

Stay Cozy, Carrie

Unknown said...

We get all freaky here when there's even a dusting of snow on the ground. My students were wild Monday because there were flakes falling...not a bit of accumulation however. Hope you are feeling better and enjoying that delicious soup. Thanks for participating in CPW this week.