Beef and Barley Veggie Soup

Cooking barley for Sun Harvest Lentil Soup last weekend, I stood reading the recipe for Hearty Barley Vegetable Soup on the back of the barley box and immediately decided it would be made the very next cool snap. Who knew it would only be a week later when the cool snap came. Two cool snaps before October, crazy man. Just crazy.

Modifications Made:
Half pound beef
Half cup onion, diced
Half cup celery, diced
Half cup carrots, diced
One teaspoon garlic, minced
15 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
15 oz can green beans, undrained
Half teaspoon basil
One bay leaf
One chicken bouillon cube
Water
Two cups cooked pearl barley, slightly al dente
Half cup frozen corn
Salt and Pepper

To a large stock pot, add beef, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook until meat fully browned. Add tomatoes with juice, green bean liquid, basil, bay leaf, chicken bouillon cube and water to cover. Cook until veggies are tender. Add barley, green beans, and corn. Adjust salt and pepper. Let simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Scaled for Likability: Great
Hearty, filling, easy. Made enough for an army and would have been great with crunchy bread. Beef could have been substituted for ground chicken or turkey or omitted altogether. A great vegetable soup that was not tomato sauce based.

Edit: September 29, 2020
As with all soups, this was even better the next day. However, I am glad I left the barley slightly under cooked as the barley soaked up liquid over night as water was added to liquify soup before heating.

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