Okay, so this is a soup not the burger Jimmy Buffett was singing about but it has all the fabulous flavors of a dreamy cheeseburger!  And, you don’t even need to fire up the grill. Get ready to slurp up every last drop.  My family did! It’s a very skinny main course soup since I’m using extra lean ground beef and draining the fat after browning, adding a variety of vegetables, reduced-fat milk and topping with just a small amount of reduced-fat cheese.  The skinny for 1 serving, 207 calories, 3.8 grams of fat and 5 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS. It’s such a fun soup with a whole lot of flavor. Don’t be surprised if it becomes your most requested soup!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients for Soup:

1 pound extra lean ground beef  (I used Trader Joe’s 96/4) or ground turkey, see healthy benefits

1½ cups onion, chopped

¾ cup celery, diced

½ cup carrots, diced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1½ teaspoons dried basil

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 (14.5 oz) cans Swanson’s reduced sodium chicken broth (4 cups)

1 cup reduced-fat milk (1%)

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, not drained

2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced

Ingredients for Topping:

6 tablespoons reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Ketchup

Yellow mustard

1 dill pickle, chopped, see shopping tip

Instructions

1. In a large nonstick pot or deep pan, brown the ground beef. Stir to break up into a crumble. Remove from heat, pour into a colander to drain the fat. Set aside.

2. In the same pot, add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and basil. Saute for about 5 minutes until vegetable are soft.  Stir in the browned beef and flour, stirring to coat the meat. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the broth, milk, tomatoes and potatoes. Bring to boil, turn heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

3. To serve: Ladle soup into individual bowls. Top each with 1 tablespoon cheese and a little ketchup, mustard and chopped pickle. These toppings really add to the cheeseburger flavor!

Makes 6 main course servings (1½ cups each)

Healthy Benefit
Trader Joe’s extra lean ground beef is a terrific, healthy choice. It has 130 calories and 4 grams of fat for 4 ounces. Draining the fat after browning the beef cuts the fat and calories down even further to 110 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. This quick step is so easy and worth the savings.

Shopping Tip
I think Bubbies kosher dill pickles are the best tasting pickles sold in jars. Look for them in the refrigerated deli section of many supermarkets. I bought them at Food 4 Less and Vons/ Safeway. Bubbies are sold outside California in many natural food stores like Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Organic Food Depot and Co-op stores.

Serving Tip

It’s fun to serve this soup with my recipe for Skinny Fries and a side salad.

Weight Watchers (old points) 4

Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 5