Recipe of the Week: Cheeseburger Soup

And I didn't find it on Pinterest! :) (although you probably could if you searched for it!)


I happened to be watching TV during the day, which rarely happens...and as we put together a Winnie the Pooh puzzle I was listening to the Nate Berkus Show. Their guest was Chef Aaron McCargo and they were making foods that many pregnant women would instantly crave hearty meals.  Of course the next day I had to go buy all the ingredients to make this soup!  This will probably not be in my "diet" after I have the baby, so I thought I would make it now and enjoy while I still can!

*Note: This recipe is actually "Spicy Cheeseburger Soup", but being 9 months pregnant, didn't want to add the "spicy".  So check out the link for the original recipe if you like to spice it up a bit!

Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup peeled, diced potato (1 medium all-purpose potato)
½ cup canola oil
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup finely diced onion
½ cup diced green bell pepper
½ cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Italian Herb Blend
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ quarts beef broth
¼ cup beef bouillon powder
1 ½ pounds white American cheese, thickly sliced
¼ cup chopped scallions, white and green parts

Directions

In a large saucepan, put the potatoes and enough water to cover them by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and return to the pan. Cover and keep warm.

In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat slightly with a wooden spoon, until the beef begins to brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add the onion and the bell peppers and cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Add the flour, herb blend, salt, and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until well mixed and thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the broth and bouillon powder, lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until heated through, taking care not to break the meat up too much.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the slices of cheese, one at a time, and stir gently until the cheese melts into the soup and the soup becomes creamy. Add the scallions and the potatoes and cook just until heated through. Serve hot.

Doesn't look as appetizing as it really is! It was yummy, but a little salty for me! I also like "chunkier" soups so I would probably cut back on some of the beef broth next time.  We ate the leftovers over rice the next day which was really good.  We also have a TON left to freeze!

Let's Read!

Has TV taken over your life?? I have felt like my kiddo has been watching way to much TV lately.  I have been allowing it more as this pregnancy is exhausting and I sometimes enjoy just sitting for a 30 minute cartoon.  But she now will beg to "watch a show" several times a day.  I have also made the mistake of turning the TV on, or playing a movie on my iphone for her while she's eating lunch or breakfast (mostly to get her to sit still for 5 seconds and actually eat something!)  But I am now regretting some of these choices.

So of course as I browsed through Pinterest (while watching TV :) ) yesterday, I came across a pin of different ways to read more with your child, which led me to 10 Ways to Read More with your Child. The website has some great ideas for reading time, many of which were for independent readers, but others are great for all ages! The one that stuck out to me was number 8: Read to your child at mealtimes and snacktimes.  So today instead of TV or Iphone clips, I decided to bring a few books to the table with our lunch.  I read them to her while she ate, and to my surprise after we finished the small stack she asked me to read them all AGAIN!!! (I have to admit, I was really expecting her to say "Mom, can I watch a movie now?")

Can't wait to try some of the other ideas on the website! How do you incorporate reading into your day??

What are some of your favorite Toddler books! Here is one of our favorites right now: Ed's Egg By: David Bedford.

We actually got this book in a set with a few other fabulous stories from Alissa's Great Aunt for Christmas.  My daughter is absolutely in love with them. I am not sure where she got the whole set, but here is a website link to the publisher where they sell many of the other stories we have.  They also sell many of them on Amazon!

Happy Reading!