Tasty Tuesday with Cory - Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Hamburger Soup

As FRANKENSTORM Sandy approaches. I've been getting things in order. While I LOVE apocalyptic movies like DEEP IMPACT and 2012, I also have a fear of widespread electric outages. My house may look like I live in the eye of the storm (when in fact I'm states away) but I want to be prepared if our power goes out.

I've purchased batteries for our flashlights, put water containers in our freezer to keep things cold and to provide water in case the power goes out. I've also been cooking. Mainly, SOUP so that I can use up produce and have healthy meals in case we are without power for a while. Last week I made a wonderful CHEESEBURGER SOUP! A creamy soup with ground beef, potatoes, cheese and canned tomatoes. It's VERY rich, hearty a thick! In fact, I put some in the fridge and if I thin it out it's enough for at least 2-3 more bowls full.

stock and potatoes

First, I used a BEEF STOCK (about 3-4 cups worth) than added 3-4 medium sized potatoes peeled and cubed into bite sized pieces and let it simmer until cooked through (about 15 mins.).

Next, cook 1 lb. of ground meat and drain if necessary. I seasoned the brown beef mixture first with McCormick hamburger seasoning and some garlic powder. Added chopped celery (approx. 1/2 c., carrots* (1/2 c,) and LOTS of onions. probably about a cup then transferred the beef into the heavy pot with the potatoes and stock mixture.

I tasted it and it needed something. It was bland. I looked in the fridge which was really quite bare but I had a couple bags of odds n ends shredded cheese Mexican blend and cheddar. So I added what was about 2 cups of shredded cheese and about a cup of milk with a couple pats of butter. To thicken *you may want to thicken the milk, butter and flour in a mug FIRST (rue) and add it to the pot or you might get clumps. Stir till everything is thick, creamy and delish.

before and after

I tasted it again and it still needed a little something. So I added worchester sauce, A1 would probably work as well and I added a can of diced tomatoes. It needed that acid to cut through the cheesiness and served it up with some garlic toast.

My toughest critics – my two boys LOVED it! You could probably serve with a nice salad, and have a pretty substantial meal.

My friend has a similar soup recipe but, it was without the cheese so it was aptly named - HAMBURGER soup. If you don't have cheese or simply can't have cheese this soup would be fine as a tomato and beef broth based soup. I had tons of cheese and LOVE cheese so this is what I did.

• 3-4 cups of beef stock. I used a KNORR stock concentrate as they take up LESS room in my pantry and I use them for adding a beef flavor to stroganoff, soups, casseroles and gravy.
• 1 lb. of ground beef browned and drained
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots, celery and onion (I used my mini chopper to make short work of this step)
• 1-2 cans of diced tomatoes you can use either the ro tel variety if you like a bit of spice or simply plain.
• 1-2 c. of shredded cheese I had cheddar and Mexican blend. I've heard you can use Velveeta to *my soup was so thick I probably could've used it as a dip.
• Add milk to thin or make a rue to thicken - milk, butter and flour combined.
• Seasonings. I had hamburger seasoning from McCormick which is salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, paprika.
• Worchester sauce or even A1, just add a little at a time.

You could probably top with a dollop of sour cream, a few dashes of ketchup/mustard and chopped up dill pickle.

YUMMY!

* I know carrots and celery don't belong on a cheeseburger but, they don't hurt anything either PLUS I had some stuff to use up. So, whatever you have and however you like is FINE.