Cheeseburger Paradise Soup

This recipe came from Taste of Home (Feb/Mar 2007). It just caught my eye as I was thumbing through my recipe file and I decided to give it a shot. I don't know why I've waited so long! It is super delicious! I will definitely be making this again.

Note: When they recommend that you use gloves for cutting jalapenos, it's really not a joke. I was foolish and thought that since I was just cutting up 2 peppers and I would wash my hands immediately afterwards, it wouldn't matter. Wrong. Oh, it didn't matter for about 10 minutes. Then the pain started in a couple of fingers and just spread from there. I repeatedly washed my hands and finally resorted to looking up "cures" online....ended up spreading olive oil over my hands then rinsing with cool water. It helped somewhat, but my fingers still felt lingering burning for a couple of hours. Thank goodness I had the sense to avoid touching my eyes!

Recipe:

6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (peel if desired - I used about 8 smallish potatoes)
1 carrot, grated
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
2 small jalapenos, chopped and seeded
3-4 cups water (I used 4 cups to just cover my veggies)
3 T. beef bouillon granules (no msg, please!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 t. pepper
1-1/2 - 2 lbs ground turkey (or beef)
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms (optional - I did not use)
4 cups milk, divided (use additional milk if needed)
6 T. all purpose flour
1 lb Velveeta, cubed
crumbled cooked bacon (optional - delicious addition, but not necessary)

In a soup kettle, combine the first 9 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook meat and mushrooms in a little butter (if just doing meat, you don't need butter) over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add to soup. Stir in 3 cups milk; heat through.
In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon.

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This post is linked to Raising Olive's 4 Moms Soup Link-Up