Soup Sundays: Cheeseburger Soup Slow Cooked in Clay!

Let’s face it: cheeseburgers are delicious. That smell, that taste… so satisfying, so delicious. But we can’t eat cheeseburgers every day, though maybe we sometimes wish we could…. What if there was a cheeseburger option you could feel good about eating (and feeding to your family?) And what if it was healthy, and easy to make, and only required cleaning one pot after cooking?

Too good to be true, you say? Well, try this recipe first, and see what you think. So if you’re dreaming of cheeseburgers and it’s a cold day, or you are just tired of eating cheeseburgers with questionable ingredients, this is the soup for you!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (brown it first in a cast-iron skillet and make sure it’s good and broken up)
• ½ bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1-2 tomatoes, diced
• 4 potatoes, diced
• ¼ c starch as a thickener (optional)
• 1 c milk
• ½ t black pepper
• 1 t real salt
• 1 t oregano
• 3 c broth (beef broth adds to the burger-ness of the flavor)
• 8 oz cheese, shredded
• Crumbled bacon (optional) (!)

1. Add everything except cheese, milk and starch to clay pot
2. Cover and seal, cooking for 1-2 hours on “stew” setting
3. Just before it’s done, combine the milk and starch, whipping until smooth.
4. Add milk mixture, stirring
5. Cover, seal, and allow to cook another 15-20 minutes
6. Sprinkle with shredded cheese (and bacon!) before serving