Soup Week 2011 : Cheeseburger Soup and Taco Soup

What do you do when it's cold and snowy?  You have yummy comfort food!  For me, I love love soups when it's cold outside, especially thick and cheesy ones.  I think it's my body's way of keeping warm....eat high calorie food to pack on the extra insulation.  Oh well....I guess I'll have to run an extra mile (or 2) on the treadmill tomorrow =)  This is definitely a family favorite in our house.  I've made it for potlucks and dinners and it's gotten rave reviews....I didn't have any leftovers because what people didn't eat, they found a dish and took some home with them.  So now that the weather is cold....warm yourself up with a nice bowl of soup.  If this doesn't warm you, that 2 mile run on your treadmill to work off the calories definitely will.

1 lb ground beef, browned, drain the fat
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. diced celery (optional, I used a dash of celery seed to give the flavor)
3/4 c. shredded carrots
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
4 tbsp. butter
3 c. chicken broth
4 c. diced potatoes
1/2 c. flour
16 oz. Velveeta, cubed
1 1/2 c. milk
3/4 tsp salt and pepper
1/2 c. sour cream


You can either do it in a slow cooker, or stove top.

If you want to do stove top:
Dice potatoes and boil until soft, but not as soft as when you do mashed potatoes.

 In a skillet, brown the hamburger and cook with the onion.  Drain the fat.

 In a large pot, combine broth, potatoes, carrots, milk, parsley, garlic, salt ant pepper, bacon, and hamburger.  Add in cubes of Velveeta.

 Cook on medium heat until cheese is all melted, stir occasionally.  Add sour cream and flour.  Let simmer for 30 minutes.  If you need to thicken it up, use 1 tbsp cold milk, add in around 3tsp of cornstarch, mix, then add to soup.

Serve in Bread Bowls!!!!




This soup also freezes great!  Just place it in freezer bags, and heat up in a pan when you're ready to eat it
again.

Crockpot Taco Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes( I used one with green chilies and then omitted the can, but use both if you like a kick =) 
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 pkg. ranch seasonings
• 
  
• In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside. Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chili peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours.

I cooked mine for 4 hours on high because I didn't have enough time.  It is super good with some tortilla chips crumbled on top and some shredded cheese.  If you want to cut the calories a little, you can use turkey burger instead.

The calories per serving of the original is about 385, and it says the recipe has 8 servings, but I think it has more like 16 bowl size servings.  So if you go with the 16 servings, it is around 200 calories, add a little for cheese and chips if you add them.  I paired it with some homemade french bread and it was wonderful!!!!  I think this is going to be a new favorite.  Plus, it makes plenty so I can freeze some for later since soups freeze great.

I’m Linking up to these Awesome Blogs!

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