Tomato Barley Soup

I just made this delicious soup in my crock-pot.  Matt liked it so much that he didn't even add hot sauce to it, and he adds hot sauce to EVERYTHING.  Peanut loved it too!  I just blended it up and gave it to her for lunch today, and it was a big hit.

Tomato Barley Soup

When I make soup, I almost never use a recipe - I just throw in whatever ingredients I have in my house, or happened to be a good price in the grocery store.  So, I didn't use a recipe for this either, but I'm really happy with how it turned out, so I'm going to kind of make it up right now.

Tomato Barley Soup (or Stew)

Ingredients:

1 can of no salt added crushed tomatoes

6 or 7 cups of low sodium vegetable broth (I use epicure)

2 or 3 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 or 3 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup pot barley (or pearl barley, but pot barley is less refined)

salt and spices to taste (I used a few tbsp of Epicure Herb and Garlic Dip Mix)

(other suggestions - add some red lentils, sweet potato, or pasta [at the end] to change it up a bit)

Directions:

Put everything into a crockpot.  Cook on low for 8 hours (or overnight), or on high for 4 or 5 hours.

EASY!