Sausage Barley Soup

SUBMITTED BY: MRSARAB PHOTO BY: DIARTSY

"This is a nice soup recipe with a lot of texture and flavor. It is a welcome change for those weeks when there doesn't seem to be a lot of variety... and all 3 of my kids even loved it. This can also be cooked in a pan on the stove until the barley and carrot are tender, but I prefer the slow cooker method. The flavors seem to blend better."

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	4 Hrs
READY IN	4 Hrs 15 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 4 servings

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INGREDIENTS

1 pound Italian sausage
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
1 large carrot, sliced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup uncooked pearl barley

READ REVIEWS (83)

DIRECTIONS

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage, onion, and garlic until the sausage is evenly brown. Season with Italian seasoning. Remove from heat, and drain.
In a slow cooker, mix the sausage mixture, chicken broth, carrot, spinach, and barley.
Cover, and cook 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

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REVIEWS

MORE MEMBER REVIEWS

Reviewed on Jan. 8, 2006 by Tammy

Wonderful soup! Hit the spot on a cold Winter's day! Immediately upon reading this recipe, I knew I had to use more of some of the ingredients ~ I used three carrots, 1/2 cup barley, three cloves of garlic and a tad more Italian seasoning. I also used hot Italian sausage. I might take the advice of other reviewers and add a can of diced tomatoes next time too! Another thing...this feeds way more the four people it says. My large crockpot was overflowing! That's not a problem, though, because now I have some for the freezer!

10 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Feb. 19, 2006 by FOODRAT

This is a really good and hearty soup. I used 8 c of chicken broth, 3 carrots (per other reviewers) and doubled the amount of barley, since I'm a huge barley fan. I cooked the soup in the crock pot for 8 hours (overnight) and then put in the fridge to later be heated up when I got home from work. I think it really let the flavors marry. Maybe next time I will try making this with hot Italian sausage (use bulk; easier to cook) and will keep the sausage in bigger pieces. I will definitely be making this one again!

6 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jan. 30, 2006 by RedRobynNAU

Well, I made a couple of changes to the original recipe based on other reviewers' suggestions, and it turned out SO GOOD! :) I used 3 carrots instead of 1, added quarter cup each of frozen peas & carrots, a can of italian style diced tomatoes, and 2 beef bouillon cubes. Unfortunately, my soup ended up cooking for 11 hours while I was at work, so my only complaint was that the spinach was a little slimy and the veggies and barley were mushy...but it certainly didn't detract from the awesome taste!! As others said, it isn't the prettiest soup in the world, but it tastes so good, that I will definitley make this again (and would for company, too! :)

5 users found this review helpful

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