Crockpot Macaroni Cheeseburger Soup

Crockpot Macaroni Cheeseburger Soup - made September 17. 2021, modified from The Kitchen Magpie 

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 small white onion, diced

1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups strong chicken stock

1 teaspoon basil

1 cup uncooked macaroni 

3/4 cup whole milk

8 ounces cheddar cheese (the original recipe called for Velveeta)

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef, stirring until mostly browned. Add chopped onion and fry, stirring, until translucent and soft. Add garlic and stir fry another minute.
2. Transfer mixture to crockpot. Pour chicken stock over beef mixture and add carrots and basil. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. 30 minutes before serving, add in macaroni. Cook until soft. Whisk in milk and cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is melted throughout the soup completely. Serve warm.

I was so emboldened by the success of the Sausage Tortellini Soup that I continued with the cooking that day, figuring I would stock up meals for the coming weeks.

I haven't used my crockpot in ages, maybe not since I got my instant pot. But this recipe called for a crockpot so I dusted off mine. The one I have is a mini one, probably the size most people use to boil potpourri or spices. Me, I cook with it. I did have to make a half recipe of this though as a full recipe wouldn't have fit into my little crockpot.

I know, I know, most people buy a large crockpot to let some huge amount of food cook all day to feed a crowd. Nope, not me. I march to the beat of my own mini cooking efforts.

Fortunately, this one turned out quite well too. It's like a homemade soup version of Hamburger Helper cheeseburger macaroni. But less salty and more tasty. I omitted the carrots called for in the original recipe as I didn't have any and I didn't use Velveeta for the same reason. I did have a good amount of shredded cheddar cheese that's been in my freezer for what was getting to be a dodgy amount of time (probably from my last cooking efforts donkey's ages ago) so I used that. The end result probably wasn't as creamy as Velveeta would've been but my taste buds for savory food aren't that discriminating so this worked just fine.