ATOMICLUSH

I am giving this recipe 5 stars because it is a good easy base to make it your own. I doubled the recipe exactly to accommodate 1 box of Dreamfields macaroni and it was not dry at all. I did use whole milk and a blend of mild and sharp cheddars, as well as an Italian cheese mix (mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan). In addition to the teaspoons of seasonings recommended, I also added another teaspoon of garlic powder and sea salt. My only complaint is the flour...seems like I couldn't cook the flour flavor out of the sauce even though I made sure the butter/flour was cooked and bubbling for several minutes...next time I will half it. I also omitted the breadcrumbs.

This recipe is good, but it didn't really taste like the kalua pig / pork that I had in Hawaii. It's missing a couple dimensions of flavor, although I am not 100% sure what that is...I know a lot recipes call for banana leaves, so I wonder if that's it? Anyway, the liquid smoked helped a little, but it wasn't a cureall. Don't get me wrong, the pork tasted good, but it needed "something." Also, I did not cook it for 16 to 20 hours...that would be waaaaaay overcooked and probably dry out the meat. I cooked it on high for 2 hours to get the juices going and then on low for 4 more hours and the meat was falling off the bone tender. (Yes, meat will dry out regardless of whether it's swimming in juices or not when it's overcooked...the meat will lose its ability to hold moisture and you'll have jerky!)

I did make a bunch of changes to this soup, but it made for a really good basic recipe that you can add/change to your liking. First, when I was sauteing the beef and onions, I also added 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic towards the end for extra flavor. I did not drain the oils because I used fairly lean beef and there wasn't much in there and the fat also adds flavor to the soup. Then I used 5 cans of low sodium beef broth instead of water, but I did keep the use of the boullion cubes for an extra kick because I did add some extra ingredients. I added 2 sliced italian zucchini squash, 3/4 cups frozen corn kernels, 3/4 cups barley, and a pinch of ground pepper to the recipe. It came out really great with deep flavors and everyone loved it.

I think I really missed the cream in this soup. I thought it was a little bland and not rich enough. I think this might be better served as a gazpacho (just served cold on a hot summer day) because the flavors are so muted.

I rarely give bad reviews, but this one is absolutely terrible. I love spinach...raw and cooked/wilted. But this just tasted like paper with a funky aftertaste. I will not be doing this again.