Spinach-Barley Soup

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for reading my little blog! I can't believe how much I am enjoying sharing my cooking escapades with you. Thank you! On to the recipe! Occasionally, my couponing allows me to procure free cans of soup. If you are interested in couponing, some of the brands that I regularly see coupons for are Progresso, Campbell's Select Harvest, occasionally Chunky and Campbell's Condensed Soups. Safeway still accepts Shortcuts electronic coupons, which does regularly have e-coupons for Campbell's Select Harvest and Progresso Soup.

If I am getting Cambell's Select Harvest, I tend to reach for the Italian Wedding Soup. It has some of my favorite foods: meatballs, spinach, rice, and broth. I had finished all the canned soup in the pantry, when it finally occurred to me that I could just make my own variation of the soup. I am not known as the sharpest knife in the drawer so it took me a little while to think of this. What I came up with is a soup that features, you probably guessed it by reading the title, spinach and barley. I also added white beans. I was surprised at how good the barley and white beans were together. I am foreseeing a barley risotto with white beans in my future.

I have tried making soup where I just tossed the veggies, like onion and garlic, straight into the soup. I am finding, over and over again, it is well worth the time to soften the vegetables in some olive oil before adding the broth. Also, since I am new to using barley, I cooked it separately. I wasn't exactly sure how much liquid it would soak up. Next time, I will cook it with the soup's broth; I don't think it will affect the broth ratio too much. For now, my directions are for cooking the barley separately. Enjoy!

Barley

The rest of the Ingredients

Chopped Spinach

Finished Soup!

Spinach-Barley Soup
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/3 bag (8 oz. bag) spinach
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can vegetable broth
1 bay leaf (optional)
olive oil
water (I used 4 cups)
salt and pepper to taste

1. If cooking barley separately, bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil, add barley, stir, and cover with a lid, lowering heat to a simmer. For fully cooked barley, simmer for 35-40 minutes. I cooked the barley 25 minutes. Once cooked, drain.
2. In soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-low. Add onion and sprinkle with a little salt. Saute a few minutes before adding the garlic. 
3. Once onions and garlic are softened, add broth, water, bay leaf, beans, and barley. Simmer about 15-20 minutes.
4. Add chopped spinach. Simmer until spinach is wilted and warm.
5. Before serving, remove bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Price Breakdown
.23 barley (from the Market of Choice)
.33 spinach
.68 beans
.13 onion (still $.48/pound here)
.06 garlic
.50 broth
.07 olive oil 
Total: $2.00 or $0.40/bowl