Hearty Mushroom-Barley Soup With Chicken and Vegetables

Name: Hearty Mushroom-Barley Soup With Chicken and Vegetables
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 65 h
Total time: 65 h 15 min
Yield: 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 medium onions, chopped; 3 tablespoons fresh minced garlic; 1 small celery rib, diced; 2 large carrots, peeled and diced; 1/2 lb white button mushrooms, sliced; 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste) (optional); 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme; 4 cups low sodium chicken broth; 1 large bay leaf; 1/2 cup pearl barley (washed over with cold water); 2 cups cubed cooked chicken or 2 cups ham; 1 cup frozen peas (optional) or 1 cup corn (optional); 1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted; 1/2 cup half-and-half cream (or use 1/4 each cup milk and whipping cream); 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (more for sprinkling); salt and black pepper

Submitted by Kittencalrecipezazz

"My family loves this soup and requests it often --- use only pearl barley for this, you can use leftover turkey in place of chicken. This soup gets thicker if left overnight in the refrigerator, so you might want to thin out with a little water or broth when rewarming it. Feel free to use any veggies you like in place of the peas or corn! Serve this hearty soup with crusty buns to dip into the broth, this recipe can easily be doubled."

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Ready In:: 65hrs 15mins
Ingredients:: 17
Serves:: 6-8

ingredients

3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
1 small celery rib, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
¹⁄₂ lb white button mushrooms, sliced
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste) (optional)
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons dried thyme
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 large bay leaf
¹⁄₂ cup pearl barley (washed over with cold water)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or 2 cups ham
1 cup frozen peas (optional) or 1 cup corn (optional)
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
¹⁄₂ cup half-and-half cream (or use 1/4 each cup milk and whipping cream)
¹⁄₄ cup grated parmesan cheese (more for sprinkling)
salt and black pepper

directions

In a large Dutch oven or saucepan heat butter over medium heat; add in onions, garlic, celery, carrots, mushrooms slices and cayenne (if using) and thyme; saute for about 5 minutes.
Add in the chicken broth, bay leaf and barley; simmer covered for about 40 minutes, or until the barley is desired texture.
Add in the cooked chicken or ham, peas, cream of chicken soup, half and half cream and Parmesan cheese; simmer for 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese.

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Reviews

Wow!!! Fabulous soup. I didn't have any pre cooked chicken, so I used five chicken skinless chicken thighs. Wow!!!!

DeidreJane
This was delicious. The only changes that I made was to leave out the optional peas/corn and the half/half and parm cheese. I did up the cayenne added a jalpeno and increased some of the other veggies. This was a very thick hearty and satisfying soup!! I glad I have plenty of leftovers to freeze for future meals. Thank you. Diest

diest
This was made for todays lunch and is it ever delish. Substantial and warming it's a perfect winter dish. Made the full recipe and I'm very glad that I did, sometimes leftovers are a good thing. I used the chicken and peas and the only change I made was to use non fat evap milk for the 1/2 and 1/2. I really enjoy barley and I don't know why I don't use it more often. Thank you Kit for for another really good recipe.

Annacia