Marvelous Recipes

It was so cold and cloudy yesterday that all I could think about was a big bowl of tasty hot soup so I went searching through some recipes in a Taste of Home magazine I had purchased a couple of years ago. This is the one I chose because it contained a lot of healthy vegetables, required no meat and was so simple and easy to make in my slow cooker.

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1-1/2 cups fresh baby carrots, halved
1-1/2 cups frozen cut green beans
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
3 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups water
2 cans(14-1/2 ounces each) vegetable broth
1 cup medium pearl barley
1 bay leaf
1-3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained

1. In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine the first 8 ingredients. Stir in the water, broth, barley, bay leaf and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or until barley and vegetables are tender.

2. Stir in the tomatoes; cover and cook on high for 10 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Discard the bay leaf before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Emily

There’s nothing quite like a comforting bowl of soup especially during the cool weather season. Whether you’re counting calories or not, this delicious recipe from Weight Watcher’s “Simply the Best” cookbook is sure to “hit the spot”.

3/4 cup pearl barley
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1-1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
4 cups low-sodium beef broth
3 carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste (no salt added)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Minced parsley

1. In a large saucepan, stir the barley and 4 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the barley is partially cooked, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onions and celery; cook, stirring as needed, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring as needed, until the mushrooms begin to soften and release their liquid, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the broth, carrots, tomato paste and barley with it’s liquid; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring as needed, until the barley and carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Add the salt and pepper; serve, garnished with the parsley. Makes 6 servings.

Per Serving: 182 Calories, 3 grams Total Fat, 0 grams Saturated Fat, 0 mg. Cholesterol, 264 mg. Sodium, 32 grams Total Carbohydrate, 7 grams Dietary Fiber, 9 grams Protein, 42 mg. Calcium.

Serving Provides: 1 Bread, 3 Fruit/Vegetables, 1 Fat.

Points Per Serving: 2

Emily