Stephanie O'Dea's Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

I am a fan of Stephanie O'Dea and will frequently refer to her cookbooks for my slow cooker needs. This is a soup that served with a salad and rolls makes a light dinner that is incredibly tasty to boot.  Not to heavy on the meat and with bits of potatoes, onions and red peppers. I love that it makes just enough for dinner without a ton of leftovers.

So, here we go!:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 qt chicken broth
1 teaspoon jarred garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 red pepper seeded and chopped
2 potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup low fat (less than 2%) milk
12 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed (I used the Velveeta light)
Hot sauce to taste, optional
Bacon, optional

Directions:

1) Brown the ground beef. Drain any fat.
2) In a 4qt slow cooker, place the ground beef and the next 5 ingredients. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until potatoes are tender.

3) Stir in milk and cubed Velveeta and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes.

4) Garnish with hot sauce and crumbled bacon