Loaded Cheeseburger Potato ((and carrot)) Soup
The first dinner to be served to a kiddo with a mouth full of new hardware needs to be yummy & soft. So guess what I came up with?? Cheeseburger Potato Soup! Now, this may sound strange – but, when I think of cheesy potato soup, I immediately think of opportunity. That is right – opportunity to disguise and hide healthy ingredients. Look closely and you will notice an orange cast to my potato soup. The name cheeseburger potato soup would cause one to believe the orange color comes from cheese…mounds and mounds of cheese. However, it does not.
Let me back up, on Thursday, we were given a list of brace care instructions and most of them included what foods can no longer go into Brody’s mouth. This list mostly affects his snacking and lunches. ((that is the hardest!! haha)) I have gotten into a few ruts routines with lunch making and snack giving.
For instance:
- peanut packs have saved our family from meltdowns more times than I can count–all nuts are now on the naughty list.
- Popcorn, my healthy goto for after-school snacking – now it’s a no-no too.
- Suckers, hard candy and sugar gum: WAY off-limits; we are not a “sugar gum” type of family, but suckers and lifesavers…well, they are lifesavers when things
suckaren’t going right, like the times we are waiting in line in the pharmacy drive-thru to get the life-saving drugs for a sickie — cars behind, cars in front, car beside—for an hour…?!! A sucker can buy me 15 minutes of peace if I instill the “no sucker-chewing rule” and you bet I do, that crunch sound makes me crazy so fast!
- Also, NO CHIPS!! Oh no, he is like his mama … loves chips and salsa. WE.CAN.NOT.STOP.EATING – once we start. All of these things will take some tweaking, I am sure food ideas and snacks will start to come back to me–I did just get my braces taken off 21 months ago, but who’s counting??
Even though snacks take the hardest hit, while his teeth are sensitive everything needs to change. But everything needs to remain healthy!
Brody’s teeth and gums sure ache – and I can so relate!! Having just finished a few years or braces myself, I knew exactly what Brody needed for dinner. Potato soup. Soft, tasty, warm & secretly healthy. Brody was so happy, he ate two bowls. Little did he know, it was crammed jammed full of carrots.
- 1 lb browned ground turkey*, (I like to use a blend made by the butcher - half breast + half thigh)
- 1 bag, Frozen diced potatoes
- 1 sweet yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 3 T cold butter
- 1/2 c flour
- 1 32 oz box of low sodium, organic chicken broth
- 1 12 oz can fat free evaporated milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 large carrots, you can use more if you want
- 1 t seasoned salt (may need more as you taste during cooking)
- 1/2-1 t sea salt, depending on taste
- 1/2 t freshly ground pepper
- 1&1/2 c freshly shredded sharp cheddar, I prefer white cheddar.
- extra shredded cheese as a garnish
- In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute diced onion for about 5 minutes until onions are soft. Add garlic and cook for another minute, be sure garlic doesn't burn - it tastes so bad!
- While the onions are cooking, combine flour and butter in a small bowl, making it into a paste.
- Once the onions are finished cooking, remove them from the pot and set aside. Add the flour paste to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes, allowing the flour-y taste to dissipate developing a nutty flavor in the paste, which will be used to thicken the soup. Next, add the broth, evaporated milk and bay leaf, stir until the paste is completely incorporated into the liquid. Add the frozen potatoes, onions and garlic and the browned turkey (See * note below) to the liquid. Using a microplane, grate carrots into the pot. Stir, making sure the soup doesn't stick to the bottom. Add seasoned salt, salt & pepper to taste. It is easy to add more at the dinner table to be sure not to over season. Right before serving, turn the heat off and add the cheese. Stir to combine thoroughly.
- Serve and top with shredded cheese to garnish.
- *I have previously unseasoned browned ground turkey in the freezer, If you don't, browned the turkey in the same soup pot you will be using to make the soup, before you brown the onions.
- I served the soup you are seeing above using the California Burger as inspiration, and topped each bowl with chopped hamburger pickles & lettuce, diced tomatoes & avocado, and a squeeze of mustard and ketchup. It was crazy good!
