Beef and Barley Soup

So wouldn't you know it is snowing again here in Utah!! We had 70 degree weather here last week and my family and I went camping and now it is snowing again!! You just gotta love spring in Utah. So last night I decided to make soup since it is cold again. My mom use to make a beef with barley soup and I loved it so I decided to make my own. I had no recipe to go by I just kind of threw things together and the end result was yummy!! I made this with ground beef but you could easily substitue ground chicken and turkey if you prefer. Sorry about the pictures they aren't that great but believe me the soup was great!!

Beef with Barley Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 T. garlic, minced
7-8 carrots chopped
5-6 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup uncooked pearl barley~you find this by the dried beans and rice in any grocery store
4(14.5 oz) cans beef broth
1(14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1(8 oz) can tomato sauce
4 cups water
4-5 beef bouillon cubes
1 T. dried parsley
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 bay leaves
2 large baking potatoes, diced

Brown the beef in a large pot. When browned add the carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for 10 minutes.Stir in the remaining ingredients except the potatoes and bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes and then add the potatoes and simmer until the potatoes and all the veggies and barley are tender. Serve with grilled cheese, rolls, or cornbread.

Note: this makes a large pot of soup so if you don't want that much than halve the recipe and it will turn out just great as well!!