As with all great things in life, moderation is key. We have it all heard it time and again that if it tastes good, we probably shouldn't be eating it very often. When it comes to the most delicious things we love to eat, they are high in salt, raise our cholesterol, have too many carbs, and/or are just plain bad for our health in general. Well, my friends, today I plan to show you how you can enjoy one of those terribly tasty foods in life we all love, the bacon cheeseburger, and tweak it into a slightly healthier yet equally delicious meal! Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder is a new take on a simple classic that removes the carbs associated with buns and doubles down on the cheese to keep your tastebuds satisfied and your belly yearning for more time and again. True, it still isn't the same as eating a bowl of kale, but sometimes in life you just have to succumb to those desires and let your mouth lead you unto temptation! Next time you crave a cheeseburger be sure to remember what this food doctor ordered.....Let's Get Cooking!
Like any great recipe, this one starts off with bacon. You can either cook it whole in strips and crumble it later on or cut it down into smaller pieces and cook it. Both ways are fine, but I cut mine into smaller pieces since I prefer less crispy bacon myself. I let mine sizzle away for about 8 or 9 minutes so it was cooked but just shy of extra crispiness. It is a Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder recipe and not a cheeseburger soup with bacon bits recipe, after all!
Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the stockpot and set it aside. Keep those tasty bacon drippings in there, though! No point in wasting that extra flavor so go ahead and add the ground beef to the same baconized stockpot. Sauté the beef for 8-10 minutes until browned. Depending on your personal preference, feel free to either chop the beef up into very fine pieces or leave them a bit larger if you want a bigger beef bite in your final chowder. There is no right or wrong so do whatever you feel is best for your personal taste.
Thankfully this recipe requires minimal prep work. You can actually knock it out while the ground beef is cooking. Remember, the size you dice and prep the onion and red bell pepper will be reflected your final product so be sure to use those knife skills appropriately. I would be sure to break down both the onion and pepper into pieces no longer than 1/4 inch, but it is entirely up to you as your own chef. Below are the pictures of my onion and red bell pepper after I prepped them for this recipe.
Once you are finished browning the ground beef, add the onion and red bell pepper and let them sauté for a couple minutes. We want to maintain some texture and bite with the veggies, but also don't want raw crunch either so just cook them long enough for the onions to just start turning translucent while the bell pepper slightly softens.
At this point, go ahead and add the minced garlic and let it combine with the other ingredients till it becomes fragrant, about 1 minute or so. The onion and bell pepper should have released a bit of their natural liquids so the mixture should look fairly wet and soupy. Sprinkle some AP Flour over everything to combine with those juices to form a roux to help tighten up the mixture. Be sure to cook the flour at least a minute or two so it has time to do its thickening job before moving on to the next step.
Once the flour has cooked into the beef and veggie mixture, slowly add the milk and beef stock while continuously stirring. Bring this up to a boil and continue to stir while the roux we previously created starts to tighten and thicken everything up. After you get the liquids boiling for a minute, reduce the temperature to a low simmer and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Don't completely walk away and forget about your chowder, though, and be sure to give it a stir every few minutes to prevent anything from burning on the bottom of the pot.
You may be asking yourself where is the cheese in this Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder? Well, now that the chowder itself is pretty much done, we can add the cheese! It isn't completely necessary, but you can chop that mega processed, undeniably delicious, nuclear war survivable block of Velveeta down into chunks to help it melt faster. I guess that is the one last little bit of prep work I failed to mention earlier, my bad! Add the Velveeta, or any real freshly shredded cheese you choose, to the chowder and let it keep simmering until fully melted and incorporated. One thing I will mention here, though, is to avoid using pre-shredded cheese. It is typically coated with various fillers to prevent it from sticking and clumping, which in turn will lead to a greasy mess when you try to melt it. That is the main reason I went with Velveeta this particular time and recipe. However, you can definitely shred a block of cheese and avoid that grease issue if you are not a big fan of Velveeta!
Remember the bacon we cooked earlier? Well, believe me I didn't forget about it. You can either add it all back to the chowder now or save it and sprinkle it over each bowl individually as you serve up this masterpiece! That wraps up this Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder. Simple, filling, and even kid-friendly, hopefully this recipe quickly makes into your weekly rotation of favorite meals. Clearly, there is a ton of room for additions and substitutions on this one. Like I previously mentioned, you can use any other cheese if you are not a fan of Velveeta. I also think a can of Rotel or even just some chopped tomato would also make a nice addition. Be sure to let me know how you made this Bacon Cheeseburger Chowder and what great tweaks you did to make it even better. As long you try to cook something delicious I'm sure your wild ideas will work just fine...Just Keep Cooking!
BACON CHEESEBURGER CHOWDER
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