So, this is a picture taken before it was totally done. I completely forgot to take one after the carrots were completely cooked (and floated to the top), the barley was done and the turkey was added. The soup was a hit and is a great way to use up the Thanksgiving left-overs (assuming you’re turkey eaters), not to mention that it is a great twist on the old classic, chicken noodle. It looks a lot more complicated than it is, I promise.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots, scraped and sliced
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 4 cups sliced button mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 6-8 cups turkey broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup barley
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped cooked turkey meat (make sure all bones are removed)

Instructions

• In a large skillet, heat oil and saute onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms; sprinkle thyme on veggies and continue to saute until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Pour turkey stock into a large pot (if you have less than 8 cups of stock, add water to make up difference) and whisk in the tomato paste; stir in sauteed veggies; turn heat to high.
• Stir in barley, vinegar, salt and pepper.
• When soup comes to a boil, turn heat down to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 1 hour, or until barley is tender.
• Stir in turkey meat and continue to simmer just until soup is heated through.

A few changes…rather than make this in a large soup pot, I did it in a crock pot. I sauteed in a saute pan, but the rest: crock pot. And, rather than boil it for an hour, I just left the crock pot on overnight (I started cooking at about midnight, so that gave it a good 8 hours of cook time) on low and then added the turkey in the morning. Because it was for a lunch thing, I had to transport the crock pot to work (lots of plastic wrap = no spills) and I turned it back on warm once I arrived. It was perfect!