Cheeseburger Chowder

One of the food shows I enjoy on Food Network Canada is Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. On one of his shows he had a segment with a cheeseburger chowder courtesy of Jackie Smith. Now a chowder is essentially a potato based stew. I wrote the idea down to try as I'm always looking for comfort style foods and if anything falls into comfort food it is chowders with their rich, creamy flavours. Yesterday I my memory was jogged when another blogger talked about the cheeseburger soup she had made based on the cheeseburger chowder recipe but left out the potatoes and carrots because those were not things she would put on a cheeseburger. To my way of thinking the potatoes would add not only texture and thickness but almost the flavour of a hamburg bun. The carrots would add the sweetness normally present in the lettuce and tomato of a cheeseburger as well as a bit of texture.

Cheeseburger Chowder

I printed off the recipe then started tweaking. By the time I was finished the original recipe was just a hint of what the new recipe became. I added in the nuances of bacon flavour to give a bit more depth. The end result was a rich, creamy chowder destined to become a family favourite. It really was quite good, if I don't say so myself. My husband gave the chowder two thumbs up so I'm quite pleased with the results!

Cheeseburger Chowder
recipe by Garden Gnome

1 lb extra lean ground beef
2 tbsp bacon grease
½ Spanish onion, chopped
2 lg carrots, diced
4 c peeled potatoes, bite size
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
½ tsp garlic pepper
2 tsp Lawry's garlic salt with parsley
3 c turkey stock
2 c Velveeta® cheese
1½ c whole milk
¼ c unbleached flour
¼ c sour cream
green onion, cut into thin slices

Brown the ground beef and drain. Chop the onion. Dice carrots. Wash, peel and cut potatoes into bite sized pieces. Melt bacon grease in Dutch oven. Stir in onions and carrots. Cook until onions start turning translucent. Stir in potatoes, ground beef, stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and let cook until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese and most of the milk. Stir the rest of the milk into the flour to form a slurry. Once the cheese is melted stir in the slurry to thicken the soup. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream. Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onions.