Go Tigers and Cheeseburger Soup

On Wednesday night, the Tigers played UAB at UAB. This is always an intense game because it is a huge rivalry. The past couple of years we have made the trek to Birmingham to cheer the Tigers on to victory; however, this year we decided not to subject ourselves to the hostile environment at Bartow Arena and cheer the Tigers on to victory from the comforts of our home. For the game we thought about having cheeseburgers, tater tots & beer because those are always good game watching staples but we decided to combine everything and make cheeseburger soup! The idea for cheeseburger soup came from watching another episode of Diners, Drive- Ins, & Dives. Guy visited this restaurant called Grover's Bar & Grill which used to be Pres. Grover Cleavland's summer cottage until it was turned into what is now known as Grover's Bar & Grill. Guy sampled a variety of items from the restaurant but what caught our eye was the cheeseburger soup! So on Wednesday we searched the internet for a recipe that looked similar to what was featured on the show and we found this one recipe from another blogger who had watched the same episode and was inspired to make the cheeseburger soup as well. We followed the recipe even down to the last ingredient, lettuce! We even added our own little touches like mustard and dill pickles because that is what you put on a cheeseburger so why not put it in the soup! Our version of cheeseburger soup turned out ok. I think it would work better as a dip or pour the cheeseburger soup over a toasted bun. But if you want to try it out for yourself here is the recipe:

Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:

2 lb 96% lean ground beef

Spices & seasoning, salt & pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cavendar's, etc.

1 large onion, diced

butter

1 box (32 oz) Chicken Broth

1 jar of Ragu cheese sauce

1 lb of Velveeta Cheese (On the show, she used Cheese sauce from a can and the recipe we found she used 2 lbs of Velveeta, so we decided to use both cheese sauce and Velveeta)

1-1.5 pint heavy whipping cream

1 Tb flour

1 Tb cold water (may take a bit more)

2 cans of diced tomatoes

shredded lettuce

mustard (optional)

dill pickle relish (optional)

Directions:

In a skillet brown the ground beef. Season with your choice of seasonings. Drain and set aside.

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

Add the chicken broth (on the show she used a chicken base–like bouillon + water), the cheese sauce, diced Velveeta and the heaving whipping cream. Allow the cheese sauce and Velveeta to melt into the mixture.

In a small bowl 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.

Add tomatoes and shredded lettuce to the mixture and if you are adventurous mustard and pickles. Stir to combine and turn to low heat until ready to EAT.

Bon Appetit!