Wyatt and his best bud's #1 dinner request- Cheeseburger Soup

My son's name is Wyatt or Wild Man or "Hey! I was going to make that for dinner so get OUT of it!"

He is a growing 5th grader.
He eats.
He eats all the time.
He is a BIG eater.
He isn't a BIG kid though- about the middle of his class- pretty average size wise.

I'm scared for our budget 5 years from now!

He's always been a big eater. When he was a toddler, people used to buy him breakfast just so they could watch him eat the whole thing- a tall stack, 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties, 2 bacon strips, a side of hashbrowns, and an OJ.
You know who you are.

Anyway, this is the meal that Wyatt and his best bud always request when they are hanging out at our house for dinner. Cheeseburger soup with hot bread and butter.

This recipe will serve about 6-8  real people dinner, depending on appetites and bread consumption. I say real people because these are full bowls of soup, not a 3/4 or 1 cup serving size.

The cast of characters: ground beef, onion, carrots, celery, hashbrowns, butter, flour, beef broth, milk, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, salt & pepper.

If you want to, prep your veggies first. If you're like me, that level of preparation hasn't occurred, so I'll walk you through the lazy sequence.

I start of by browning 1 pound of ground beef in a stock pot. I could tell you that browning your meat in the same pot as you will cook your soup allows the juices to linger and merge well. It does. Really. Or I could remind you about the LAZY. I only want to wash one pot.

While your beef is browning, get your carrots ready. I julienne mine. They are a consistent size and shape with the hashbrowns. I'm weird like that. This compulsion weirdness negates the lazy factor. (Don't ask me about my M & M or Lucky Charm eating issues.) If you don't suffer from the same compul- err- weirdness, feel free to just shred 2 or 3 good sized carrots. You will also need to chop half an onion and 2 or 3 stalks of celery.

Your hamburger should be nice and browned by now. Drain it or set the hamburger aside, but reserve any of the grease in the bottom of your pot. You need about 4 tablespoons. If your hamburger is very lean (ours is) supplement with butter to get your 4 tablespoons. Be sure your heat is on medium low to medium, and then sauté your carrots, onion, and celery for about 5 minutes. If you julienned your carrots, throw them in first for a minute or two because they take a bit longer to cook, and then add the onion and celery.

Prep your beef broth now. I rarely have homemade beef stock or broth on hand. I use a powder beef stock that you add to water. I measure my water into a large mason jar. Truly the picture is deceiving, this is one of the big ones, not a quart size job. I don't actually own a large liquid measuring cup. I just measure in my mason jars with the tic marks up the sides. I digress though. You need 4 cups of beef broth. Feel free to use can or box if you want to.


Your veggies should be nice and fairly softened up by now. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour across the top of them and give it a good stir to make sure it stick. Then add in your beef broth, ground beef, and  4 cups of hashbrowns. Just eyeball the hashbrowns. I throw them in frozen. Raise the heat to medium high or high and bring just to a boil, then lower the heat to a medium. Cover and simmer until your carrots and hashbrowns are tender- about 15-20 minutes- stirring occasionally.

When the hashbrowns and carrots are tender, add 1 1/2 cups of milk and  2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Salt and pepper to taste then stir and simmer until all the cheese is melted.

Once the cheese is all melted, lower your heat to low and add 1/4 cup of sour cream. Stir until fully blended.

Your soup is ready! Serve with hot, crusty bread and soft lightly salted butter for a hearty winter fare.




$$Budget saving tip!$$


Exhibit A

If I don't make my bread and rolls myself, then I ALWAYS buy them from the bakery discount rack at the grocery store. You get bakery items at an instant 30-50% savings. They are not "bad" they just need to sell quickly. Go ahead and buy whatever looks good. If you will be eating the item within a day or two, just store as normal. If you will be eating the item within a month, pop in the freezer in the store wrapper. If you won't be using the item for up to 3 months, remove from the store wrapper and re-seal in plastic wrap or zipper bags. I have stored many, many different breads and pastries this way!





Cheeseburger Soup
1 pound ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
2 or 3 stalks chopped celery
2 or 3 carrots, julienned or shredded
up to 4 T butter
1/4 c all purpose flour
4 c beef broth
4 c hashbrowns
1 1/2 c milk
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c sour cream
salt & pepper

1. Brown your ground beef. Drain and reserve your drippings.
2. Add beef drippings and butter to achieve a total of 4 tablespoons.  Sauté your carrots, onion, and celery in the drippings for approximately 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle flour across the top of your vegetables and gently stir to fully coat.
4. Add beef broth, ground beef, and hashbrowns. Stir and bring to a boil. Place a lid on the pot and lower heat to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally until the hasbrowns and carrots are tender.
6. Once tender, stir in milk and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Continue to gently stir until all of the cheese is melted.
7. Lower the heat to low and stir in the sour cream until fully incorporated. Serve.