Barley Vegetable Soup

The flavors of this soup are delicious. I made this a year or so ago in the crockpot as the original recipe calls for. This weekend I made this on the stove and it was still very easy and flavorful. I'm including the crockpot directions since you drop all ingredients in the pot, turn on and walk away! You gotta love that!

• 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 1/2 cup bias-sliced carrot (1 medium)
• 1/2 cup sliced celery (1 stalk)
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 15-ounce can red beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
• 1/2 cup regular barley (not quick-cooking)
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups vegetable broth

Saute onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms.

Cook until onion is translucent.

Add remaining ingrdeients and simmer for at least an hour, or until barley is tender.

Crockpot version: place all ingredients in crockpot and pour broth over mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on hight for 4-5 hours.

Serves 6.