1poundground beef (minced beef) - I like my soup beefy, so I used 2 pounds
2mediumyellow onion - chopped
6largecarrots - shredded
6-8stalkscelery - chopped
1bagbaby spinach - I didn’t have any on hand this time, but usually include it
1tablespoondried basil
1tablespoondried parsley
½cupbutter
6-8cupschicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon) - depending on your desired thickness
8-10mediumpotatoes - cubed
½cupall purpose flour (plain flour Australia and UK)
4-6cupscheddar cheese - I used a mix of cubed Velveeta, and shredded Colby Jack, Cheddar, and Muenster
3cupslow-fat milk
Instructions
In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine over medium heat.
Add onions, carrots, celery and beef. Cook until beef is browned.
Stir in basil and parsley.
Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.
In a separate saucepan, melt the remainder of the butter and stir in flour. Add the milk, stirring, until smooth.
Gradually add milk mixture (and spinach) to the soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
Stir in cheese until melted and heated through. DO NOT BOIL.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
As always, this recipe makes a very large batch of soup, so make sure you either have a whooooooole bunch of people helping you eat it or plenty of Tupperware containers for the leftovers. One lovely thing about this Cheeseburger Soup is that it really freezes and reheats well, so I freeze family-size portions (in this case, we had 7 leftover containers). Then, whenever we get a Cheeseburger Soup craving, all I have to do is pop the big cheesy ice cube into the slow cooker, set it on low or medium-low, stir once or twice, and a few hours later, dinner is served.
Yeah, it’s that easy.