Barley-Vegetable Soup

Now of course, most recipes have a better name than that.  I mean, barley soup?  Surely I could do better than that.  Well I could but I wanted to show you that it is easy to make stuff if you just know a little bit about how different items cook.  

I wanted to use the barley in our cupboard (because we need to keep our grocery bill low this week) but I wanted to make something from my own head instead of going through the chore of following someone else’s recipe.

Here is what I already knew:
            1. Barley takes 35 to 45 minutes to cook.
            2. Barley likes beef and tomatoes and dill
            3. I wanted veggies

1.  So here is what I did.  I gathered some veggies together to sauté.  I cut them however.
            Onions
            Carrots
            Celery
            Frozen Corn
            Frozen Lima beans

2.  I sautéed the veggies in the order given then added some seasoning.
            Dill
            Oregano
            Basil
            Garlic Powder
            Salt
            Pepper

3.  I cooked that then added:
            1 ½      c.         Barley
            1          can      Crushed Tomatoes
            1 ½      boxes   Beef Broth

4.  Brought it to a boil then simmered about 45 min.

Presto!   I have lunches for this week that are filling and nutritious