Speaking of baby boys, my friend Claire over at Lemon Jelly Cake just had a sweet little boy a few weeks ago. Today I’m posting over there to give her a break so that she can get some freaking sleep snuggle with her baby. (The recipe is now available below.) But then I realized that it was a piece of lettuce. And I was THIS CLOSE to putting it back. We’re bringing “tricking our kids into eating vegetables” to a whooooooole different level over here, guys. Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram It really does taste like a bacon cheeseburger, pickles and all. And I don’t even like pickles. This soup is best served immediately because it has fresh iceberg lettuce in it. (Don’t be weirded out. Just trust me.) Cook the onion and ground beef over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is cooked through. Use a spoon to remove the grease. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard, and stir that together for about 2-3 minutes. Add the beef broth and Velveeta. Stir until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Add the grape tomatoes and lettuce, (it will look like WAY too much, but it will cook down, don’t worry) and simmer until the lettuce has just barely wilted, about 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped pickles and cooked bacon.
Drain the grease. I already recommend using lean ground beef (like 90/10) for this soup, but you’ll still want to drain off extra grease. Garnish right before eating. No one likes soggy lettuce! We’re letting it wilt for just a couple minutes. If you won’t finish off all the soup in one night, consider garnishing individual bowls with lettuce and tomato, rather than adding it all to the soup pot.
Make it vegetarian. Use a pound of your preferred ground beef substitute (like Impossible plant-based ground beef, or Beyond Beef, or Wegmans “Don’t Have a Cow” crumbles) instead of the regular ground beef. Omit the bacon, of course. Sub your meat. Ground turkey works in this too! Add mushrooms. Saute up some white button mushrooms or baby bellas and add them as a topping with the lettuce and tomatoes. More cheese. If you’re a Swiss burger lover or you’ve got some pepper jack cheese on hand, add a slice or a sprinkling of grated cheese and let it melt on top of the hot soup. Cheddar cheese, Colby jack cheese, it’s all good. The creaminess!! Fancy it up. See serving suggestions immediately below for how to gussy up this soup and send it off to the dinner table in style (or just serve it as an easy dinner just the way it is). Give it a kick. Add a little hot sauce!
Brush some sesame seed buns with butter, cut them into 1.5 inch pieces, toast them in the oven, and serve your bun-croutons on top of the soup. Make some easy one hour dinner rolls and serve them with the soup. Throw some frozen french fries in the oven and serve them on top (or on the side). Top each serving with half a toasted, buttered sesame seed bun, like a little hat for the soup (and of course, dip it in).
