Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup with Sharp Cheddar

Purchase a block of sharp, uniformly colored cheddar cheese and grate it yourself to make this cheeseburger macaroni soup. Melt the cheddar cheese to make a yellow-orange broth with cooked lean ground beef and macaroni noodles. Garnish the soup with diced raw onion and parsley and reserve some grated cheese for garnishing individual servings.

I use a large, heavy Dutch oven for this recipe. Brown lean beef and half of the onions until soft, then skim off some fat before adding butter and flour. The browned bits won't cook more when added to broth and milk and will be incorporated into the soup.

Reduce boiling seasoning mixture and add elbows; reduce heat to medium-low and cover. I cook elbow macaroni until the seasoning mixture looks glossy and the elbows are tender and curved. If you like firmer elbow macaroni, take it out sooner, as it will get softer during cooking in the seasoning mixture. Overcooking macaroni causes it to break apart.

I take the Dutch oven off the heat to add shredded cheese. Mix the shredded cheese into the broth until it melts. The Dutch oven will be hot enough to melt the cheese but not hot enough to boil it. Serve the soup hot in ceramic bowls with the reserved toppings. Other toppings can be added. Raw sliced onions offer a cool topping for hot soup.