Cheeseburger Soup (a la Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives)!

“Hello. My name is Amanda, and I’m addicted to The Food Network” BWAHAHA….

But, really, let’s get serious. I could have Food Network on 24/7 and love every minute of it.  The worst part? Seeing something AMAZING and knowing that you either need to take a cross-country trip to eat it, or come up with your own recipe 😉  This happened, YESTERDAY.  I know—it didn’t take long for me to give in to the craving—-it was THAT intense!

Yesterday, while the hubs was taking a mid-afternoon cat nap during the football game, I sneakily switched the channel to 231–The Food Network, and what was on?  Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  I came in on the last part of the show, as he was headed into a place called “Grovers” in East Amherst, NY.  They are known for their burgers, but even moreso for their Cheeseburger Soup.  As I heard this, my eyes grew big and I started to salivate—-yes, I know, I have a REAL PROBLEM!  The lady went through the recipe and I just knew that was going to be delicious—Guy Fieri (the host) said it was amazing, and couldn’t stop eating it.  I knew I had to have it!  This was Sunday afternoon.  Fast forward to 7am on Monday.  I wake up wanting Cheeseburger Soup.  I told you–A REAL PROBLEM!

So, after shoving the hubs out the door for work, I get dressed and haul my butt to the grocery to get the all important ingredients that I don’t keep in the house for this recipe—Velveeta or Cheese Sauce, Half&Half, and lean ground beef.  I was SO READY for this!

This first attempt, I’ve made pretty close to what “Grovers” did, but when I make this again (and I WILL make this again–it is THAT good), I’m going to work a little more at getting the same taste with a few different ingredients to cut down the calories and fat.  Today I could not handle a failure, so I stayed with the somewhat original ingredients 😉

Here’s my recipe from this first attempt:

Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:

2 lb 96% lean ground beef

Hamburger seasoning or salt/pepper

1 large onion, diced

1 Tb light butter

1 box (32 oz) Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth

~1/2-3/4 of a 2 lb log (so, approx 1-1.5 lb) of 2% Velveeta Cheese (On the show, she used Cheese sauce from a can, but all I found was Cheese Wiz, and thought Velveeta would work better)

1-1.5 pint Fat Free Half & Half

1 Tb flour

1 Tb cold water (may take a bit more)

3 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 head of lettuce, shredded

Directions:

In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, brown the ground beef.  Season with your choice of hamburger seasonings—I used McCormick Hamburger seasoning.  Drain and set aside.

In a large soup pot, add 1 Tb light butter, and diced onion.  Allow the onion to sweat over medium heat.  When the onions become translucent, you are ready to continue.

Add the chicken broth (she used a chicken base–like bouillon + water–but I think it is just easier to use broth), the diced Velveeta and the half & half.  Allow the velveeta to melt into the mixture.

In a small bowl or ramekin, mix the flour and water to make a slurry.  You may need a bit more of water–just add enough to make a smooth mixture, somewhat thin, but not watery (if that makes sense).  Once mixed well, add to the cheesey mixture. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (the cheese likes to stick).

Add the ground beef to the soup pot, turn down to medium low heat.

Dice tomatoes and shred lettuce and then add to the mixture.  Stir to combine and turn to low heat until ready to heat.

I NEVER would have thought that lettuce in a soup would be good, but it really, really is!

This is comfort food at its greatest, ladies! MMMMMMMMM

Now, what’s the damage you may ask?  Well, it’s not horrible, really!

Nutritional Information:

Servings:  This makes about 14 cups of mixture—so 9 servings

Per serving (1.5 cups);

Calories: 359

Fat:  12 g

Fiber: .9 g

WW pt :  8