First Posted: 1/27/2014

I love cheese more than any human being probably should, and I am always craving it. It’s really hard to satisfy such a craving (how many blocks of sharp cheddar can I eat for God’s sake?!), but I found a way to do so with this Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup.

If cheese in any way makes you slightly sick, or you’re lactose intolerant, STAY AWAY FROM THIS. It’s loaded with the stuff and weighs pretty heavy on the stomach – but it is so, so good.

It can also be made for pretty cheap; I grabbed most of these ingredients at Aldi’s: ground beef, Velveeta, frozen shredded hash browns, low-sodium chicken broth, and bacon.

Start off by browning the beef in a skillet. Though the recipe says to season it with salt and pepper, I did what I would normally do for hamburger patties and went ahead and threw in some onion and garlic powder.

While the beef is browning, cube the block of cheese into about 1-inch cubes. Place these along the bottom of the slow cooker. Then, throw the hash browns and chicken broth on top of that.

When the beef is done, drain it of any liquid, then add it to the slow cooker. Cook on low for four to six hours.

Usually, when I throw something into the Crock-Pot I just leave it alone. However, I found myself stirring this one as the cheese melted. It’s probably not necessary, but I just wanted to make sure everything was thoroughly mixed.

Also be wary of the bottom burning, as mine had some charred spots when I dug down to it.

At about 15 minutes out from the soup being done, fry up some bacon strips, let them cool, then crumble them up to use as a topping for your bowl of soup.

Normally, the recipe would stop there, but I found myself craving a little extra something with this soup, and then I realized what the cheeseburger was missing: the element of ketchup.

As an experiment, I opened a can of tomato soup and poured a bit onto the top of my bowl, and it was DELICIOUS. If you’re feeling adventurous, I would try pouring a whole can into the original recipe to get that extra pop of flavor.

SLOW COOKER CHEESEBURGER SOUP

Courtesy of jayhawkmommy.com

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 lb. Velveeta

• 40 oz. bag of frozen shredded hash browns

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 6-10 bacon strips

How-to:

• Brown the beef in a skillet. Season lightly with kosher salt and cracked pepper.

• As the beef is browning, cube the Velveeta and place in the slow cooker.

• Add the hash browns and chicken broth.

• Drain the beef, then add it to the slow cooker.

• Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

• About 15 minutes before serving, fry the bacon strips, crumble, then add to the soup, stirring well.

• Serve.