I made this for our annual soup party and it was a big hit. I did add chicken soup base, celery and a few more spashes of worcestershire for my taste. Next time I am going to replace the water and bullion with chicken stock and see what happens.

This was delicious. Really creamy and very cheesy. This was my first time cooking barley and it was delicious! In retrospect, I would've cooked the barley separately, while the onions and mushrooms were sautéing. It would have sped things up and eliminated the need to stir for 15 minutes straight.

This was delicious!!! I did everything exact! Great recipe!

Came out a bit too chunky

It's too bad all recipes makes you rate the recipe in order to review it now, because I didn't really follow the directions- but I must say; the idea of this soup inspired me! First of all, hubby and I are on a diet and although the sound of an entire stick of butter sounds good, I just couldn't do it. So I used two Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp "smart balance" margarine. (that's 4 T total, instead of 8!) Then after sauteing the veggies I didn't remove them, I just sprinkled 1 T flour in and stirred for about a minute until the flour was absorbed into the fat and a little golden in color. Then, I didn't notice that it was supposed to be quick cooking barley until after I started making it, so I added another two cups liquid for the barely to absorb as it cooked. I replaced the water with 1/2 C white wine, 1 1/2 C beef broth, and 2 C chicken broth. Let the barley cook with the lid on for about 40 minutes and it was perfectly tender. I then added three cups NONFAT milk plus gruyere cheese, (and the parsley and worchestershire) because I had it in the fridge already and it's pretty similar to swiss. Although, I'm sure it's to die for with swiss. the turn out: delightful! Honestly, this is my first time cooking barley. And I actually liked it. Who knew? Thanks for the inspiration!

This was really good. I thought the soup was rich and delicious. I used 2% milk the first time I made this and it seemed a little thick. I used skim milk the second time and it turned out great! I'll definitely be making it again and again!

This soup was a huge hit. To suit our diet I subbed olive oil for some of the butter and also used low fat milk. It came out great! It was rich, but not overwhelmingly so. Definitely a keeper!

This is absolutely delicious! I added celery and used lowfat milk (I was afraid that the butter, cheese, and whole milk would make the soup too rich). Those were good choices. A yummy, hearty meal that needs little more than a simple salad to accompany it. I couldn't find quick-cooking barley so I made that separately and added it to the soup when it was "al-dente".