Cheeseburger Soup

Awesome soup for a cold winter day! To speed along prep at dinner time, Heather always chops the veggies in the morning, puts them in a ziploc bag and all she has to do at dinner time is dump them in the pot! We always eat this soup with cheese garlic biscuits (recipe on the bisquick box) and a fresh salad.

1 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
4 tbsp. butter or margarine, divided
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced peeled potatoes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces process american cheese, cubed (velveeta)
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. pepper

Brown ground beef in soup pot. Drain and set aside. In the same pan, saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until veggies are tender, about 10 mins. Add broth, potatoes, and beef. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour, cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup and bring to boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts, remove from heat.

Yield : 8 servings.

Source: Taste of Home