Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

Today I made some crockpot cheeseburger soup from A Year of Crockpotting. I had some Velveeta cheese that I needed to use up, so I decided to try this out. I added a lot more veggies - carrots, celery, broccoli and green beans - in addition to the potatoes, onions, and bell pepper that the recipe calls for. It was an ok soup. I expected it to be better. Maybe I shouldn't have used the lighter version of the cheese - it didn't melt very well at all. But it still wasn't the best soup. Don't think I'll make it again.

Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

4 cups chicken broth (I used organic free-range broth that I had in my pantry)
1 T dried onion (I used one small white onion, chopped)
1/2 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained on the stove top (I used about 3/4 pound of meat made up of half extra lean ground turkey and half extra lean ground beef)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used green)
1 cup milk
12 oz Velveeta, cubed (I used the ligher version made with 2% milk)
2 potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes (I used four small white potatoes)
2 small garlic cloves, minced
Tabasco sauce, optional (I left this out)
crumbled bacon, optional (I left this out)

Brown the meat on the stove top, and drain fat. Set aside to cool a bit.

In a 4 quart or larger crockpot (I used my 6-quart), add the chicken broth and milk. Stir in the onion flakes and minced garlic. Cut up the bell pepper and potatoes, and add. Add any additional veggies. Cut up the Velveeta and add. Stir in the browned meat.

Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or until everything is good and melty.

Garnish with Tabasco sauce and crumbled bacon if desired.