Slow-cooker Cheeseburger Soup

While thumbing through my crock-pot cookbooks, I came across a soup that called for a dill pickle, mustard and ketchup topping.

I kept thumbing.

For some reason though, this cookbook continually opens up to this page, no matter where I'm at.

It's a sign.

This soup, minus the bizarre toppings, was the tastiest soup we've had the pleasure to "slurp" in a long time. The entire family loved it so much, that it is on the menu again for next week!

As my children say, "It was AMAZ-A-ZING!!!

Slow-cooker Cheeseburger Soup

4 Tb. unsalted butter

1 lbs. very lean ground beef

1 cup diced sweet onion

3/4 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrot

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. dried basil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups whole milk

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or use your own homemade)

2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: ketchup, mustard, chopped dill pickles

Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add beef; cook until meat begins to brown. Break up the beef as small as you can as it's cooking. Stir in onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and basil; cook 5 minutes. Add flour, stirring to coat meat; cook for 1 minute. Stir in milk until mixture is smooth. Bring mixture to boil; cook 2 minutes. Transfer soup to a slow-cooker. Stir in broth and potatoes. Cover soup; cook on low-heat until potatoes are tender, about 4 hours. Add cheddar just before serving, stirring until the cheese melts. Season soup with salt and pepper and garnish as desired.

*A couple of notes...this recipe says that it serves 6, but I would guess more like 4-5. I doubled this, and only ended up with enough leftovers for my Mister's lunch. Also, make sure that when dicing the vegetables, go small. This dish relies on a mirepoix [mihr-PWAH] for its flavor. That just means chopped up carrots, onions and celery that is sauteed and added to flavor dishes. I didn't know that, but when I used a little "French" on the family, they were impressed!