Hearty Soup

Well, I'm just a day behind this week....it's one of those kind of weeks. So, for me, this is Monday...or Tuesday and Monday put together...or something like that. Anyway, you get the picture. My meal plan is getting a kink in it with hubby's work schedule and the fact that next week is Thanksgiving and I am in clean ot the pantry mode. So today, I want to share an easy, hearty, somewhat healthy, and way yummy soup with you that even my manly man who doesn't much care for soup, really likes and even requests. Enjoy!!

CHEESEBURGER SOUP

1 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped or shredded carrots

4 cups fine chopped potatoes, 1 cup chopped celery

1 lb lean ground beef, 4 cups chicken broth

1 tsp basil, 1 tsp parsley

1/2 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 8 oz. Velveeta

In your soup pot, sautee onions, celery, carrots in olive oil than add beef to cook til done. Than add basil and parsley, broth, and carrots. Cook til potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Separately, blend milk and flour, and add slowly to soup, stirring it in. Stir in Velveeta last until melted.

*Tips--I like to cut up my veggies and brown my meat ahead of time (I brown a couple pounds at a time and freeze it) so all I have to do is throw it together at dinner time.
*I most of the time, omit the flour and add more veggies than it says and it makes soup thicker and chunkier.
*I like the 2% Velveeta, but I don't recommend the light...not creamy!
*My husband does not like cooked carrots (unless he can't see them), so I chop them up really fine with my hand chopper (which also relieves stress, by the way) and he devours it! He has no idea there are that many carrots in it...good trick for kiddos too!
*If you do Weight Watchers, this is roughly 5-6 points per cup