Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2009

I LOVE this soup! I make jars of it every year and make a couple pots for us too. It's such a hearty, tasty soup! I usually use Italian sausage instead of ground beef and seasoned diced tomatoes (Red Gold onion, garlic & basil) just to add a bit more flavor.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Kristen

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 22, 2009

fun to make and great to eat. I made a bunch of these to have on hand for when I'm in a pinch for a meal.Scaled the recipe down to serve 4. I usually will toss another handful of any shaped pasta that I have on hand to beef it up a little; it's definitely not necessarily though. This is hearty enough to be a meal. Add a loaf of French Bread &/or a salad and you're set!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

jennewby71

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 17, 2009

I received this recipe as a gift last year and now I make it all the time!! I love it and suggest it all the time!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

erin85sully

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 10, 2009

I'm planning on giving these as holiday gifts this year, so I wanted to try it out first. I wasn't disappointed! This is a really easy, tasty and low-cost recipe. The presentation got lots of compliments from my extended family before I even made it. And then they really enjoyed it for dinner...even the picky eaters. The only modifications I made were to use half French lentils and half red lentils since they add such nice color and cook up great. I also added 1/2 cup dehyrated diced carrots on the top layer just under the pasta and think this was an excellent addition. And then I used one 10-ounce can tomato sauce instead of tomato paste, and only one 15-ounce can diced tomatoes. Served with grated Parmesan cheese on top and a green salad on the side...Yum! P.S. the 1-quart jars I had on-hand worked out fine, though next time I think I'll use wide-mouth jars for easier filling...using a funnel really helped too. Hint: for decorative canning labels I went to MyOwnLabels.com and made beautiful custom lid labels for a reasonable price!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Shae's Mama

Cooking Level: Expert

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 26, 2009

Gave this as gifts last year, really cheap to make. Was a awesome gift, easy to layer ingrediebrs with a funnel. It isn't the best soup EVER, but as a gift to people who may not cook often, it's close.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

annie_zerd

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2009

I replaced the lentils with dry beans, which needed to be pre cooked, or replaced with canned beans.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

lynfreake

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 9, 2009

This was fabulous! I did take advice from others reviews and used less tomatoes, also used fresh garlic. My only other advice is to boil the beans first as they don't cook as quickly as the other ingredients.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

dressybessy

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2009

I made these for Christmas gifts this year and from the people who have actually made the soup so far I get great compliments. I made a jar for us and it was wonderful. I used chopped up turkey sausage links and it was so yummy!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

missy1979

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: San Francisco, California, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 18, 2009

This was awesome! We made about 15 of them for Christmas presents and got rave reviews from all our friends. One friend told me she made it with sausage instead of ground beef and it was delicious. Great recipe!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

mrscorey

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 10, 2009

I gave this a Christmas presents to family and coworkers. I didn't have time to test it myself ahead of time but went with it because the reviews are good and so far I have had several requests for the recipe. I did make the few small change that everyone else suggested (tomato sauce instead of pasted) and a smaller can of diced tomatoes.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

CarolJen

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 8, 2009

good, but way, way, WAY too much salt. The amount of bullion cubes was just too much for that amount of water. I counted about 15 for 12 cups of water. we needed to add a ton more water. I recommend eating in it one night as the pasta gets mushy quickly. Thanks for sharing

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

swimminash

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 6, 2009

This is a healthy, hearty soup. I am considering using brown rice next time, and possibly whole wheat pasta. We really enjoyed this soup. I also made cannisters of it with my daycare kids for Christmas gifts. They turned out fantastic!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

love my kids

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Overland Park, Kansas, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2009

I received this as a gift, and it was very tasty. It really thickened up and made a nice hearty soup. Next time I'll use the basic soup recipe and add some vegetables (cabbage, carrot.)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

MaryD

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Fullerton, Nebraska, USA

Living In: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 1, 2009

I can't rate this recipe based on flavor, so I'm rating it based on it's attractiveness as a gift. I couldn't find the 1-1/2 pint jars, so I used 1-pint jars, reduced the amount of rice by a tiny bit, and tied the baggie of pasta on the outside of the jar. It was a beautiful presentation and my gift recipients really liked the idea. I also mixed up baggies of Easy Beer Bread Mix (from this site) to give with the soup mix so they would have a complete meal ready to mix up. UPDATE (1/26/09) - My parents received one of these from me as a Christmas gift. They called last night to tell me they had made the soup and, to use my father's words, "It is fantastic! I ate two bowls and was sorry I was too full for a third!"

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Keri

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 31, 2008

I took the risk of giving this soup as a gift before trying it myself...based on all the rave reviews I figured I could. I put on the recipe card to use one can tomato sauce and one can tomato chunks. I also used veggie broth instead of beef, and left out the rice, as rice and noodles seemed redundant. I doubled the pasta instead. Well, I finally made it myself, and it was really good! Not as good as fresh soup of course, but better than canned. And so easy! One thing: I got 1 liter (1 quart) jars, and they were too big. I had to stuff tissue paper in the top to make it all fit.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Parjata

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 27, 2008

This was very good soup. I followed other reviewers tips and used tomato sauce and a 15 ounce can of tomatoes. It looked very pretty in the jar with the bullion at the bottom as some reviewers recommended. I would have given it 5 strs, but it was not "knock your socks off good".

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Diane

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2008

I put this together this Christmas - I bought cute 1/2 quart jars from Old Time Pottery for $1.50; put the ingredients in the jar; wrapped it in Christmas - themed basket wrap with a pretty bow and a spoon (4 for $1) and gave it as gifts for teachers and neighbors. They turned out really pretty - do so hope the soup is good; as I didn't try it. But it really made a pretty gift.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

franmom

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2008

Great recipe for gifts. I cut the recipe in half for about 4 servings (much more manageable for smaller families). I also added a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and used Acini Di Pepe pasta instead of barley pearls.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

smeemken

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 7, 2008

I plan on giving this as Christmas gifts this year and tried it out tonight to see how we like it. DELICIOUS! As others suggested, I used 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of tomato sauce. Otherwise, I made the recipe as written. I thought the rice and pasta worked well together and it had plenty of flavor. For myself, I may add crushed red pepper flakes and some frozen vegetables next time. For gifts, I'll make some with chicken granules. I plan on packing it in 1 qt. jars with the cans of tomatoes and sauce and a package of crackers. Put everything in a basket and add a ladle for the finishing touch. Thanks for a great recipe. I'm sure everyone will want a copy of it. :)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Patty

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 1, 2008

This was wonderful! I tried it with both beef and chicken, and while I prefer the chicken, my family prefered the beef. I just used left over chicken, and used the chicken bouillon. Very good. My one issue was when I rinsed the peas,lentils, and barly they did not dry well which caused my bouillon to absorb the moisture in the jar. It stuck to the bottom of the jar, so I had to add more when making the soup. Also I had to buy jars and the 2 pint size worked just fine, I upped the pasta to 2/3rds cup. This makes great gifts!!1 I also used a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, and a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful