This is a very American recipe, salt of the earth and processed cheese. I made it for dinner on Monday and served it with Tomato-Rosemary muffins, completing the transmogriphication of a cheeseburger and fries with ketchup into something more suitable for a cold winter evening:

It’s hearty and warm and uses real ingredients, if not all terribly healthy ones. If you have a food processor for the first step and someone to help peel the potatoes, it can come together fairly quickly. If not, it can still be a relaxing process to do it manually.

When I was taking far too many classes my last semester of undergrad, a professor assigned a weekly “artist’s date” as part of our studio photography class, insisting we take at least an hour off from work to do something personally rewarding. I remember making this recipe and feeling much better about life in general as I chopped potatoes and sat down to eat.

Cheeseburger Soup

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped.
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup sliced celery
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 4 Tbs butter, divided
• 3 cups beef broth
• 4 cup diced peeled potatoes
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups (8 oz.) American cheese (or shredded cheddar)
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream

1. In a 3 qt. saucepan, brown beef; drain and set aside.
2. In the same saucepan, sauté onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 Tbs. butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 min.
3. Add broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. Next, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
5. Add cheese, milk, salt, and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Yield: 6-8 servings (2.5 quarts)

If the slideshow below doesn’t work for you, find the photos on my flickr stream here.
[field name=iframe]