Cheeseburger Soup

My kids want to know why this is called "Cheeseburger" soup.  Good question!  I guess because it has "cheese" and ground beef maybe?  Whatever you call it, they love it!  I am not a fan of processed food.  I prefer homemade to almost anything in a jar, box or package.  Having said that... the ingredient that makes this soup so creamy and smooth is... Velveeta.  What?  I know!  You can't get any more processed than that stuff.  It's not even real cheese, which is why I put it in quotation marks!  I have seen recipes floating around for making your own homemade version and it is on my list of things to try.  The soup itself is delicious, but the sour dough toast dippers are definitely my kids' favorite part of this combo and mine too!  I simply butter the sourdough bread and toast it in the oven at 400 degrees.

I always double this recipe.  It tastes even better the next day!

Cheeseburger Soup (from Taste of Home cooking)
1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup sliced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
4 Tbsp. butter divided (3 and 1)
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced potatoes (spporx. 1 3/4 lbs.)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups (8 ounces) Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
    In a large saucepan, cook the ground beef, drain and set aside.  In the same saucepan saute onion, carrots, celery, basil, and parsley in 1 Tbsp. of butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add beef, broth, and potatoes; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Meanwhile, in a small saucpan melt the remaining 3 Tbsp. of butter.  Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low.  Add velveeta, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts.  Remove from heat. Add sour cream and stir in.