Chickpea, Tomato, & Barley Soup

I was going through my favorite blogs this morning and came across a link to another blog that I had never seen before Buff Chickpea. What an awesome blog- there are so many wonderful recipes and I cant wait to make each and every one of them!
There was one though that caught my eye and I had to rush right into the kitchen and make it for lunch.
Chickpea, Tomato, & Barley Soup
-this recipe was simple -I had all the ingredients in my pantry and boy was it delicious!
I will surely make this one again- its a keeper!Chickpea, Tomato, & Barley Soup
Adapted from Body and Soul Magazine

1 cup barley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 celery stalks, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups vegetable broth
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, for garnish

Rinse barley clean under running water. Place in a medium bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 1 hour; drain.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, paprika, cumin, barley, broth, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes or until barley is tender.

Add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook for 20 minutes or until flavors have blended. Discard bay leaves. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro before serving.

Thank you Hayley and I love your blog!

My Low Cal Veggie Soup

Too much baking- Too much cooking- Too much eating...and its time for me to start making my low cal veggie soup.


This is a comfort food that is good for you and hits the spot on those really cold days (or any day!).
It is guilt free and healthy.

My Low Calorie Vegetable Soup

Onions, raw, 1 cup, chopped
Carrots, raw, 2 large chopped (7-1/4" to 8-1/2" long)
Celery, raw, 4 stalk, small chopped (5" long)
Leeks, .5 cups washed well and chopped
Endive,1/2 cup, chopped
White beans, 1 cup
Red cabbage 1/4 cup
Swanson Chicken Broth 99% Fat Free, 4 cups
Water, tap, 2 cups (8 fl oz)
Mixed frozen veggies- 1 bag

Saute onion,leek,celery.carrots and any other remaining veggies in olive oil.
Add liquids -
Add remaining items (beans and barley).
Cook until slowly until all is tender-season. Enjoy!
*feel free to add rice, pasta or barley.
(I usually prefer barley)

Number of Servings: 8

Ham Day !!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was Ham Day-
My niece and her husband came to dinner
and I made a yummy Spiral Cut Ham-
and it was DELISH!

Needless to say I have a ton of leftover ham.

When I was at the supermarket this afternoon I bought a bag of split peas...to make soup with some of my leftover ham!

Then I happen to land on Lisa's blog~

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary .

Lisa made Ham &

Navy Bean Soup.

When I saw her photo I knew I had to have some.

So I got to work.

I followed her recipe and then a

dded a few cut up potatoes

and some diced up kale that was in my fridge.

Then weather is getting colder and we are expecting some snow

and this soup really hit the spot.

Thank you Lisa- it was a hit!

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Ham & Navy Bean Soup

taken from "The Cutting Edge of Ordinary"

6 - 8 cups of chicken stock (or broth)
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced

1 ham bone
1 pound navy beans, rinsed and soaked over night.
Leftover ham, cut into bit size pieces.

In a large pot bring the chicken stock, carrots, celery and the ham bone to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

Add in the navy beans and simmer about 2 hours, or

until beans are tender. I also added some Mrs. Dash, fresh parsley, a bay leaf and some cracked black pepper while it cooked. Take out the ham bone. If you have a big dog in the neighborhood I would save it as a nice treat. Since my pup is only 12 pounds and the ham bone weighs as much as him, I had to toss mine since there wasn't a big pooch around. Add the ham during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Another Free Style Soup Day

The weather is rainy and damp-although it really is not cold!
For some reason I was desiring soup...soooooooooo I got to cooking!




Well as usual I don't use recipes- I sort of create as I go along.
I started dicing onions and pretty soon I was making a soup very similar to the one I made the other day - you might remember from a previous post.
The only difference is that I used spinach today- I added barley and some tomato paste.
I also added a can of beans and some green beans.
The soup was chock full of goodies and tasted delicious.


Last minute I decided to make some quick bread dough - I thought the soup could use some fresh baked rolls.


It was a hit and everyone was happy- even my son-since I knew he would not dare try my soup I made him a pizza.

Sausage, Swiss Chard and Pasta Soup

It cold, windy and nasty outside and I thought soup was the perfect choice!
This was quick and easy and so comfy!

Sausage, Swiss Chard, and Pasta Soup

6 Italian Seasoned Turkey sausage, chopped

4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, un-drained

4 cups coarsely chopped Swiss Chard

½ cup of ditelini pasta
½ onion diced
3 scallions diced

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Sauté onions and scallions.
Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken broth and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil over high heat.
Stir in the Swiss chard.

Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until the kale is tender.

Stir in pasta, and cook until tender.

Serve with Crusty Bread.
Yield: 4 servings