Cheeseburger Soup

I think I first heard the words "Cheeseburger Soup" on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I loved watching that show and seeing all the cool places they found to feature. It really made me want to seek out and try new restaurants around me!  And cheeseburger soup?? Who can say no to that?

I'm not really sure what the recipe was on the show, or even what restaurant they were talking about. But I couldn't stop thinking about cheeseburger soup. This soup recipe has become one of our favorites; I love it because it's easy to throw together and I almost always have everything on hand. Dustin loves it because it's cheesy and meaty and absolutely delicious.

I use three kinds of cheese in the soup for extra flavor and cheesy punch. The spices and tomatoes keep this from feeling too much like fondue. And I use ground turkey for the meat because no one can tell the difference! It's also a lean meat that keeps the soup from getting to heavy.

I love serving this soup with pretzel rolls--it's like a hamburger on a pretzel bun! Cheeseburger soup is a delicious soup recipe that I love making. It's easy, filling, and a fast dinner to throw together.

Cheeseburger Soup

author: Happy Food Happy Home

Serves 2-4

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 pound ground turkey

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon ground mustard

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese (shredded from a block, not pre-shredded!*)

1 ½ teaspoons corn starch

¼ cup (1/2 block) cream cheese

2 slices American cheese

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of your favorite soup pot.
2. Add the onion to the pot and cook until softened, approx 5 minutes. 
3. Add the jalapeno and the garlic to the onions and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add ground turkey and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until browned, about 10 minutes.
5. Add in the chili powder and paprika, and toast with the ground turkey for 30 seconds. 
6. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, oregano, ground mustard, and bay leaf.  Allow soup to come to a simmer.
7. Cut cream cheese into small chunks and stir into the soup.
8. Meanwhile, shred the Colby Jack cheese and toss with the corn starch.
9. Add the shredded cheese and corn starch mixture to the pot.  Stir until the cheese has melted and incorporated into the soup. 
10. Add the American cheese slices and stir until melted. 
11. Ladle in to bowls and serve with yummy crusty bread or pretzel crackers. 

*Because pre-shredded cheese has a non-caking agent added to it, it often doesn't melt into the soup correctly.

You should definitely give cheeseburger soup a try. I bet it will become a favorite meal in your house, especially if you love soup and cheese!

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Quadruple Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes when I get home from teaching, I need a cookie. Or 5..sometimes 5 cookies. And last week was one of the 5 cookies kind of weeks. Luckily, by the time I nibbled on the batter making these cookies, I only had two instead of five. A

Double chocolate chip cookies are some of my favorites, and I've been known to order them from anywhere. Subway anyone? And so I set out to recreate the soft chewy centers of my favorite double chocolate chip cookies.  But I also had to raise the bar a little a lot.

So for these cookies, I added three different kinds of chocolate chips--dark chocolate, semisweet chocolate, and white chocolate. The different chocolate chips add different flavors and textures through the cookies. And I added a hit of espresso powder to the batter to make the coco powder flavor really shine.

Vanilla, butter, salt, coco powder, and three kinds of chocolate chips make these quadruple chocolate chocolate chip cookies the perfect afternoon snack after a stressful day. Add a tall, cold glass of milk, and my day was suddenly looking up. It's amazing what quadruple chocolate chocolate chip cookies can do!

Quadruple Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author: Happy Food Happy Home

Yields approx. 20 cookies

1 ¼ sticks butter (10 tablespoons), softened 

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon espresso powder

1 cup flour

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons coco powder

¾ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the egg. Mix until just combined. Scrape down sides.
4. Mix in vanilla and espresso powder. Scrape down sides.
5. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, coco powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix until just combined. Scrape down sides.
7. Add remaining dry ingredients and all of the chocolate chips. Mix until combined.
8. Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop cookies onto lined baking sheet.
9. Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes until the edges are set but the middles are still soft. The cookies should have a few cracks running across their tops. 
10. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Sometimes cookies can make everything better. And I love those times--your problems aren't too big when cookies can fix them. Cookies are my go-to 'had a bad day' food; do you have a comfort food you make during a bad day? If you don't I would highly recommend trying these quadruple chocolate chip cookies!

Ham and Leek Scalloped Potatoes

Winter has hit Indiana hard these past couple of weeks.  What started out as a very mild winter has taken an abrupt turn--there's about a foot of snow on the ground right now. And all the cold snowy weather has me craving comfort foods again; right when I thought it was safe to start eating salads.

Because I was craving warm and creamy deliciousness, I pulled some of my leftover Christmas ham out of the freezer and started dreaming about how to combine it with potatoes and cheese and warmth. Scalloped potatoes came to mind-maybe because we had eaten them with the ham in the first place.

So I combined leftover ham, and scalloped potatoes and threw a leek in too for added depth of flavor and a vegetable in this 'casserole'. Add in Gruyere cheese for a salty cheese hit, Colby Jack for creamy, melty, stringy cheese, and layer it all together topped with cream and chicken broth. And this comfort food ham and leek scalloped potatoes really hit the spot--the warm and creamy deliciousness spot!

Though the scalloped potatoes may look a little intense--there are lots of layers--the most time consuming part is making sure everything is sliced and shredded. Assembling is super easy, cover the scalloped potatoes with foil, and put in a rather hot oven until the cream has thickened, the potatoes have softened, and the cheese has melted. In other words, until the ham and leek scalloped potatoes are ready to go in your belly!

Ham and Leek Scalloped Potatoes
author: Happy Food Happy Home
serves: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium leek, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 teaspoons fresh herbs--I used rosemary and sage
4 cups thinly sliced potatoes
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
3/4 cup shredded  Colby Jack cheese
1 cup diced ham
1/4 cup chicken broth

1. Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can. I used the smallest setting on my mandolin. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and cover with water to keep them from browning.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the leek to the hot oil and cook until it has softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mince the garlic and herbs.
5. Add the minced garlic and herbs to the pan and cook for 1 minute more.
6. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
7. Drain the water off of the potatoes.
8. Add the leek-garlic-herb mixture, the whipping cream, and the salt to the potatoes. Toss to coat.
9. In the greased baking dish, place 1/3 of the potatoes in an overlapping even layer. Drizzle some of the cream from the bottom of the bowl over the potatoes.
10. Add ½ of the ham and 1/3 of the shredded cheese in an even layer on top of the potatoes.
11. Gently pour half of the chicken broth over the layer.
12. Add another layer of 1/3 of the potatoes. Drizzle with cream mixture.
13. Top with remaining ham and 1/3 of the cheese.
14. Add another layer with the remaining potatoes. Pour remaining cream on top.
15. Gently pour the rest of the chicken broth over the layer.
16. Top with the remaining cheese.
17. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
18. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the cream has thickened.
19. In the last 10 minutes of cooking time remove the foil to make the cheese on top brown and delicious. 

adapted from Pinch of Yum

The Ham and Leek Scalloped Potatoes will be a perfect way to use up any leftover Easter ham you have. It is also perfect to make any time you are craving a warm and creamy dinner. My only hope is by Easter I'll be eating this because it's delicious, and not because it is still freezing outside... Is it spring in your part of the world yet? I promise to only be a little jealous!