Tomato and Barley Soup

GaylaV's Note:

I have adapted this recipe from one that I found on allrecipes.com by Nancy Olsen. It is so healthy, Weight Watcher friendly and tastes great. You can substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth if you want vegetarian.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 cup onion (diced)
• 1 cup carrot (diced)
• 1 cup celery (diced)
• 2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄3; cup pearl barley
• 1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (I like to give them a whirl in the food processor)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1⁄8; teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot.
2. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are starting to soften.
3. While they are cooking pour the barley into a dish with water to cover.
4. Add the tomatoes, broth, water, bay leaf, and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
5. Drain the barley and add to the pot.
6. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil for about 45 minutes (until the barley is tender).
7. Add more water or broth if it thickens too much.

Reviews

[mama smurf]

Yummo! What a delicious and easy soup for a misty day. I fixed as instructed (whirling the tomatoes for a minute) and I did add about 1/2 tsp. of sugar. Will be making this again. I love tomatoes and I love barley...a great combination. Made for Zaar Alphabet Tag game and Think Pink Cancer Awareness 2010. I made this again for Let's PARTY December 2010 and just added a 1/2 tsp. of sugar and followed the rest of the instructions. Like my previous review FABULOUS!

[sconehead]

Delicious soup!! Made as directed except I added a can of black beans and some left over beef I had chopped up from a roast in the freezer and also added some diced potatoes. I made a double batch so now I have LOTS left over for lunches this next week!! And since it is so light in calories.....I don't feel deprived!! Thanks for the great recipe! I will definitely be making again!!

[CarrolJ]

This is a pretty good soup. The only thing I added was about a half pound of cooked lean ground beef and some kitchen bouquet for a more brown color. The only thing I wasn't real fond of was that it did have a bit of an acidic taste to it that I kept trying to correct...I wondered if it had a potato or two in it if the flavors would have been blended more. Made for ZWT #6 - 2010