Cheeseburger Soup

Here is another cold weather favorite of my husband's. He is not normally a big fan of soup, but there are a couple that he is always happy to see in the meal rotation. One is my butter bean soup, the other is cheeseburger soup. This is a recipe that came from a lady I used to work with back in my fabric store days. I'm not really sure why she called it "cheeseburger" soup, because its really more of a steak and potato soup, but hey, who am I to quibble? It really is a meal in a cup, so no wonder Matt likes it. It could also have something to do with the large quantity of meat, potatoes, and Velveeta it calls for!

Cheeseburger Soup
1-2 pounds lean stew meat

1 TB minced garlic

1 Tb Italian seasoning

5-6 large potatoes, cubed

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 cups chicken broth

4 TB butter

1/4 cup flour

8 ounces Velveeta

1 1/2 cups milk

salt & pepper

In a large stock pot, brown the beef on all sides in a little oil with the garlic, then set aside. In the juices, saute the herbs and the onion until translucent. Return the meat to the pan, and add the potatoes and the broth. Bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender. Melt butter and flour together; add to soup and bring back to a boil (add more flour if necessary to thicken).

Add cheese, milk, salt & pepper. Cook until cheese melts and soup reaches desired consistency.