Gordita (Or Nacho) Soup [Edited]

This soup was such a big hit that I came up right after dinner to post. Alex said it tasted like the gorditas they used to serve in school (albeit much higher quality than dog-grade mystery meat and processed cheese that were par for the course in Virginia public schools) that he loved so much. He went back for seconds before I even finished my first bowl. My mom loved it as well, and she had groaned when I told her that I was making yet another soup- cheesy to boot. The recipe comes from paperportion.com, but I have modified it just a bit.

Gordita Soup

1 pound ground beef
32 oz. beef broth
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 large or 2 small white or yellow onion, finely diced
1 yellow/orange/red pepper, finely diced
1 small can mild green chiles
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
3 tsp. Adobo with pepper seasoning, divided

Heat the broth on medium heat and cover. In a skillet, combine onions, peppers, green chiles, chili powder, garlic powder, and 1 tsp. Adobo. Saute until onions are translucent. Set aside. Use the same pan to cook the ground beef in, add 2 tsp. adobo powder. Cook until no pink remains.

Microwave cream cheese in a bowl until soft enough to stir. I did 3 minutes at half power so it wouldn't splatter. Add to broth. Add in cheese. Turn the heat up to medium high and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, breaking up the cream cheese as much as possible. Turn the heat down to medium and use an immersion blender to combine until smooth.

Add in beef and pepper/onion mix, stir well. You can serve it at this point if it's hot enough. If not, set to medium low heat, cover, and let simmer, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning.

Per Serving (1 cup): 340 calories; 26g fat; 17g protein; 4g net carbs