Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

 

Becca here with a guest post from my 'forever friend' as I like to refer to her, April!  We've been friends since college, when she & her husband and my husband & I together made up about half of the married couples on our college campus!  We used to trade off cooking meals on Tuesday nights then, in our tiny first apartments, and have shared lots of good times since; We now have seven kids all aged eight and under between the two of us now, and are excited to now live in the same general area for the first time since college!  I'll let April take it over from here.....

As a kickoff to fall our neighborhood had a 'Soup Swap' where we each brought a crock pot of soup to share.  My good friend Kim brought this Cheeseburger Soup with ketchup, mustard, and pickles to garnish each person's bowl.  I thought that was "weird,"  so I left off the garnish in my taste test of each soup.  The Cheeseburger Soup was bland and UNimpressive.  But all night everyone kept raving about the Cheeseburger Soup!  "I have to get that recipe!" "Kim's Cheeseburger Soup wins if we are having contest!"  "Did you try the Cheeseburger Soup?"  You get the point...I was thinking seriously?!?!  When I noticed my sweet hubby  was enjoying a bowl of said soup WITH the condiments, I asked to sample it. What a difference!  Everyone was right, this soup is amazing!  I told you all that to say, you have to try this soup and don't skip the "weird" stuff!"

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

4 Tbsp butter  (I omitted the butter)

1 lb ground beef sirloin (I like to use ground venison with bacon)

1 cup diced onion

3/4 cup diced celery

1/2 cup carrots

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cups chicken broth (I have used water and chicken bouillon in a pinch)

2 cups peeled and diced russet potatoes

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

and "weird" stuff like, ketchup, mustard, and pickles (preferably chopped)

 

Melt butter in sauté pan over medium heat.  Add sirloin; cook until meat begins to brown.  Stir in onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and basil.  Cook 5 minutes.

Add flour, stirring to coat meat; cook 1 minute. Stir in milk until mixture is smooth.  Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes.  Transfer to large slow cooker.

Stir in broth and potatoes.  Cover and cook until potatoes are tender -about 3-4 hours on low.

Add Cheddar cheese just before serving until cheese melts.  Season soup with salt and pepper; garnish each serving with ketchup, mustard, and pickles.

 

I have also made this soup on the stove top with the total prep and cook time being just about an hour.  Also, it's almost impossible to mess it up, so don't worry if you got something out of order- like I did tonight, I forgot the milk and flour until after I added the broth!!!-and it still turned out amazing.  :)