I cannot even put into words how amazing this soup was. One of my favorite things I’ve cooked in awhile. Gahhh. It is so amazing and I want to make it again immediately. It is the perfect non-grilling-weather way to taste a cheeseburger. The tomato flavor and garlic and onions seemed spot on flavors to make me think of a burger.
I tweaked a recipe I saw on Family Fresh Meals. That one uses a crockpot and I was making this on speed. I also didn’t include the bacon that this recipe did. I know! I know! Blasphemy. I was attempting to lighten this soup up just a bit while maintaing the flavors. I skipped the potatoes, used less cream cheese, nixed the milk/flour slurry, and swapped beef for ground chicken. But then I served it in mini breadbowls so maybe lightening it up didn’t really do much. Next time I might even skip the shredded cheese and just sprinkle some on to serve it. Gasp!
I skipped the crockpot since I didn’t think there were that many more flavors to develop here. Some things (read: chili, pork shoulder, etc) develop more and better flavors the longer they cook. This one wasn’t likely to do that, but don’t get me wrong, crockpots are great to keep food hot for a crowd.
Cheeseburger Soup
adapted from Family Fresh Meals
Ingredients:
1 lbs ground chicken (or ground pork)
3 large carrots
2 celery stocks
1 medium white onion
16 oz can crushed tomatoes (I swear by Pastene Kitchen Ready tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbs dijon, or whole grain mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
4 oz (1/2 brick) of cream cheese
4-6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
green onions for topping
Directions:
Heat a large heavy pot (to become the soup pot) over medium-high heat and heat a large skillet (for the ground chicken) over medium heat.
Peal the carrots, and chop carrots, celery, and onion.
In a large skillet, brown the ground chicken until cooked most of the way through. Break into crumbles with the back of a spoon.
In the soup pot, add in 1 tbs olive oil, chopped carrots, chopped celery, and chopped onion cooking for about 10 minutes.
Drain the meat discarding any excess fat/grease and add to the soup pot.
Add in the crushed tomatoes.
Add in chicken broth, worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, stirring well.
Cook for another 10-15 minutes covered. It was at a low boil which helped it thicken up a bit (without needing a milk/flour slurry).
Uncover and reduce heat to low.
Add in the cream cheese, stirring well as it melts.
Finally, add in the shredded cheese. Stir to melt.
Serve topped with green onions in mini-bread bowls!
This is a serious crowd pleaser. I loved it and would totally make it again! I was a bit heavy handed with the green onions, don’t do that. This was pretty quick but is a recipe where you could do some prep in advance. You could make pretty much the whole thing in advance and refrigerate or freeze it until needed – I’d leave off the cream cheese until just before serving.
I split a ball of pizza dough into 3-4 balls to bake into bread bowls. Just bake, let cool, slice off the tops, and hollow out the middle.
This would be a perfect recipe to whip up for some family or for a potluck. It could surely be a time savor (and leftover source) during this very busy time of year.
adaptations/suggestions
this recipe + some beans + cooked longer + cumin = cheeseburger chili!
this recipe + some chunks of soft onion rolls with butter for bun croutons
this recipe – cream cheese + a very little dash of cream = lightened cheeseburger soup
this recipe – cream cheese + 5-8 hours in a crockpot + cream cheese at the end = less fuss cheeseburger soup
this recipe + a whole bar of burger toppings (bacon, blue cheese, dollop of mustard, green onions, shredded cheddar, etc)
This seriously just made my mouth water. It sounds delicious!