I followed the directions and used the exact ingredients called for in the recipe. the first night it was good but lacked enough liquid to be called soup. The second night the macaroni had swelled and absorbed all the rest of the liquid and the macaroni had disintegrated into large bits and was slimy. Since the macaroni was no longer in recognizable pieces it could not be separated out. If I make this again I would try it without the macaroni and I would add more liquid. The flavor was good.
I think this recipe would be better if there was some salt and other spices to give the broth more flavor. I will probably not make this again.
I didn't have lima beans so we used light red kidney beans (its what we had) and we also used home-grown stew tomatoes along with beef broth w/garlic. Easy and delicious . . . Will make it again and experiment with other ingredients!
Try this to prevent soggy macaroni. Make the soup according to directions, but omit the macaroni. Cook and drain the macaroni, place in a colander, and rinse with cold water to prevent it from sticking together. When you serve the soup, add some macaroni to each bowl and ladle hot soup over it. No more soggy macaroni and plenty of broth.
I made it. No beef flavor. Really no flavor at all. Needs a lot of work to make it taste like anything
I loved it. First I added mushrooms. Thought it tasted kinda bland, so I added Teriyaki sauce and jalapenos, the result was perfect .
It was pretty thick, like a stew. We liked it. Family ate it up, so no soggy macaroni leftovers. Flavor was actually pretty good even with not very many spices. A warm hearty meal to come home to in the winter.
I've been making hamburger soup in my slow cooker for years, though without the barley. I keep the macaroni in a separate container and add it before I reheat and eat. I like the richness of one can of stewed tomatoes, and one of crushed.
Awesome! Easy to prepare and fabulous to est
