A Comfort Food Favorite

Homemade Vegetable Beef and Barley Soup

From the Kitchen of Carolyn Lillehaugen

1 lb beef – could be stew meat, round steak, ground beef or something similar

2 Tablespoons oil

Onion – chopped, or dried minced flakes

Garlic – 1 clove, or garlic powder

1 can tomato soup

7 cups water

¾ cup barley

½ cup sliced celery

1 cup sliced carrots

1 to 2 cups cubed potatoes

2 cubes beef bullion

½ teaspoon dried basil

1 bay leaf

Heat oil in large pot. Add meat and brown. Add onion and garlic. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes or whenever it is time to eat! Additional water may be added if soup becomes too thick. Dumplings may be added near the end of cooking time. If you do add dumplings, you will want to add about 1 1/2 cup more water or broth or else the soup will become quite thick - more like a stew. This recipe often tastes even better the second day.

* Note – this is one of those recipes that can be modified for whatever you have available. Add the veggies that you like.

Dumpling Recipe

1cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the milk and stir. The batter will be lumpy and sticky. Let rest a few minutes to activate the baking powder. Drop by spoonful onto boiling soup. Make sure there is plenty of liquid in the soup or add more water before dropping in dumplings because they will soak up some of the liquid.

Cover and let cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.