I love soup and I love making soup. When I was young, I would make up soup recipes with the ingredients we had and it was so much fun. Soup is very forgiving when you tweak the recipe a little or substitute a vegetable. There is more opportunity to be creative.
Another thing I love is that there are soup options for different seasons, moods, cravings… you name it and there is a perfect soup. I have a section in my recipe collection that has subsections for grouping soup recipes. This one earned its spot in the chilly weather section!
Often it is hard to pick one soup and have everyone love it. This one has the approval of my kids which is hard to do! I also love that it is easy to make, and everyone is happy.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 Tbsp. butter
1 medium white onion peeled and diced
1 large garlic clove minced
6 cups of chicken broth
6 cups of peeled & diced Russet potatoes
2 cups of your favorite frozen vegetable mix
3 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
8 ounces Velveeta cheese cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt & Pepper – to taste
Directions
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with a little salt and pepper. When done, drain the grease and set beef aside.
In a stockpot, add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion and cook until soft, add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Then, add the chicken broth, potatoes, vegetables, basil, parsley, and
return the beef to the stockpot.
Two Methods of Cooking
Stovetop – Simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender and start to dissolve slightly – about 10-12 minutes.
Crockpot – Carefully pour all the contents in the stockpot into the Crockpot. Cook either on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
________________________
When the soup is finished cooking, whisk together the milk and cornstarch, and then whisk the mixture into the soup.
Add the Velveeta and stir occasionally until the Velveeta is melted. The Crockpot can be on low but for the stockpot, remove from heat at this time. Stir in the sour cream until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
* If you prefer a thinner soup, add more broth a little at a time until desired consistency. Do this at the end of the cooking.
* You can add toppings if you wish. Crumbled bacon, chives, jalapeños, and diced tomato make great additions.
* Russet potatoes are the best to use in this recipe because they partially fall apart giving the soup a little thicker texture but still having chunks. Don’t use red potatoes because they will remain in one piece and will not add any starch to the soup thus not offering any thickening power.
* Ground chicken or turkey works just as well as ground beef.

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 medium white onion peeled and diced
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 6 cups of chicken broth
- 6 cups of peeled & diced Russet potatoes
- 2 cups of your favorite frozen vegetable mix
- 3 tsp. dried basil
- 2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 8 ounces Velveeta cheese cubed
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Salt & Pepper – to taste
Instructions
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with a little salt and pepper. When done, drain the grease and set beef aside.
In a stockpot, add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion and cook until soft, add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Then, add the chicken broth, potatoes, vegetables, basil, parsley, and
return the beef to the stockpot.
Two Methods of Cooking
Stovetop – Simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender and start to dissolve slightly – about 10-12 minutes.
Crockpot – Carefully pour all the contents in the stockpot into the Crockpot. Cook either on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
________________________
When the soup is finished cooking, whisk together the milk and cornstarch, and then whisk the mixture into the soup.
Add the Velveeta and stir occasionally until the Velveeta is melted. The Crockpot can be on low but for the stockpot, remove from heat at this time. Stir in the sour cream until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
* If you prefer a thinner soup, add more broth a little at a time until desired consistency. Do this at the end of the cooking. * You can add toppings if you wish. Crumbled bacon, chives, jalapeños, and diced tomato make great additions. * Russet potatoes are the best to use in this recipe because they partially fall apart giving the soup a little thicker texture but still having chunks. Don’t use red potatoes because they will remain in one piece and will not add any starch to the soup thus not offering any thickening power. * Ground chicken or turkey works just as well as ground beef.