Once upon a time, many years ago, there lived a little girl. Like many little girls, she was picky, and didn't like many things. "Eww" was her favorite phrase when food was presented. When the family went to a local restaurant, she finally found something she liked--and it wasn't a hamburger!  *gasp* It was soup, a wonderful, flavorful and hearty soup, which she devoured every time they went to this place.

But after a few years, the restaurant was sold to a new owner, and the recipe for the soup changed as well. And not for the good. So the little girl said goodbye to the soup, and though she longed for it now and then, she all about forgot about it.

Years later, as a grown woman, she realized she could try making the soup herself. And, after a few trials and errors, she hit on a soup that tastes as good, if not better, than that from her youth.





So, here's what you need to make Tomato Mac Soup:

• Corn
• Celery, chopped
• Carrots, chopped
• Hamburger, browned (and drained of fat, if need be) *not pictured*
• Tomato Soup
• Milk
• Chicken Stock (unsalted)
• Sugar (just a pinch--it's the secret ingredient)
• Elbow macaroni
• Seasoning "Mix"
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Pepper

First, brown your hamburger over medium/medium-high heat. Add about half of the total seasonings to the hamburger.




If you use a fatty hamburger, you may want to drain any fat off before adding it to the soup. This time I used 93% lean, so there wasn't any fat, but I've done it with 85% before, and there was some extra fat to drain off.





Grab your slow cooker. Combine the soups. Slowly, very slowly, stir in the milk and stock. This is the key to smooth soup! If you just dump it all in and then stir, you'll regret it... Believe me, I know this from experience. *sigh*


Ignore my crappy picture. o.0 I'm not sure what happened, but I assure you that's some funky shadow, not the actual color of the soup...




Once the liquids are all blended together, throw in the celery, carrots and corn, as well as the rest of the seasoning "mix" and the sugar. Make sure every thing is mixed, cover it, and let it cook for 5-6 hours on LOW. Although, really, more time will only make it better (to a degree, of course--I'm sure it would burn if left for too many hours).





Now, when you are about 30 or so minutes away from serving the soup, add the pasta. I learned this the hard way; if you add the pasta too soon, it turns mushy and expands so much the soup becomes a really thick stew. You can control how much pasta you want in--if you want it to be more of a thin soup, add less. If you like it a little thicker, like me, add more. :)




When the pasta is tender, and the house smells divine, it's time to taste the soup. You may have to adjust the seasonings (it happens!). I found that I had to add a touch more this time, but not because it was bland; there was just a little something missing.





Dish yourself up a big bowl and dig in!

This makes a lot of soup--personally, when I pull out the slow cooker, especially for soup, I make a big batch and put the leftovers up for lunch that week, or freeze them. This freezes pretty well, but know that the pasta will be a bit more....mushy when thawed and reheated. I don't mind it, but I think the soup peaks around the second day in the fridge.


 


Here's the complete recipe:


 








Enjoy!






Until Next Time,











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