Absolutely delicious and turns out great everytime! I made without the corn because I didn't have any, but don't make any substitutions or leave out anything else, the flavors just blend to make a wonderful soup/stew. I also simmer my soup longer than the recipe calls for. Since the macaroni tends to get too mushy if you have lots of leftovers,or have to keep it simmering for awhile. I cook and drain the pasta and just add a little to each bowl as I serve it. Then refrigerate the leftover pasta and soup in seperate containers. This is so great and different from stew or chili. I made it when I had out of town guests flying in and wasn't sure when they would arrive. They got to our home and were so happy to be met with the delightful smell and be served this satisfying and hearty soup with french bread and a fresh fruit salad after a long and hungry flight!
This soup is very good. If you want this soup to taste like the Italian soup served at the Olive Garden, try these changes - Supplement the water for two 12 oz. boxes of beef stock, and add three boullion cubes.
My dear grandma, a few years ago, made her way onto the internet for the first time looking for a new recipe to make our family a nice dinner. She found this recipe and it quickly became a family favorite. She made it quite a bit. My grandma passed away 2 years ago. This recipe is a fond reminder to me of being in the kitchen with my grandma. It will be in our family for many years not only as a wonderful soup recipe, but as a great reminder of our wonderful Coral.
Excellent flavor...I used fresh spinach instead of cabbage, ground turkey instead of beef. As suggested by another reviewer, I added some V-8 juice (two cans) and additional water. If you can make this ahead of time, it really improves its flavor after simmering for a few hours. Healthy!
Excellent!!!! After reading the reviews I added an additional 4 cups of water and a can of beef bouillon, instead of macaroni I cut up 2 red potatoes, and added a sweet sausage with the chop meat. Next time I will do a link of hot sausage for a little more zing. Made this last nite, since we have been in single digit temps, and it hit the spot with a loaf of warm baguette bread. Thanks Jackie for a great soup.
This was pretty good with some doctoring. I had to add about 4 cups of water and a can of beef broth to make it more like a soup. Then I added more of the listed seasonings and several tablespoons of garlic salt. Maybe it would have come together on its own without the garlic but it just seemed verd bland initially.
I was never to fond of vegetable soups because they never seemed to have enough substance...just watery and veggies...UNTIL NOW!! This is the Best Vegetable Soup I have ever had!! I didn't use the kidney or green beans and I had to add a lot of water throughout the cooking process but the result was great!! Thank you Jackie for providing me a recipe that changed my mind about vegetable soups!!
Thank you for posting this recipe! It is a cold night here in Pennsylvania and I was looking for a hearty soup recipe to warm me up. Your soup was it. This soup was sooo good! My family enjoyed it. A definite keeper! I did take the advice of previous postings and added 3 extra cups of water. Because of the extra water I decided to add more beef bouillon and increase the oregano and basil to a little over 1 tbsp. each. I used Italian Stewed tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes, 2 cups of frozen vegetables (corn, peas and green beans) instead of the can veggies, and I skipped the cabbage altogether. I also took the advice of cooking the macaroni separately and adding them to the bowl just before serving. Very filling and oh so good :)
I've made this recipe many times, sometimes exactly as written and sometimes with modifications. It's very good either way, but if you replace the hamburger with pot roast it is truly exceptional. I put the roast in a slow cooker with onion soup mix, 4 cups of water, and 2 tsp of bouillon and use the broth for the soup.
