How to Make Hearty Winter Soup

This is a great hearty soup that is wonderful to eat on a cold winter's day. My kids love to eat this with some crusty french bread. The soup is also packed full of vegetables and meets the Weight Watchers "core" requirements.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups baby peas, frozen
• 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
• 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 cups hulled barley, soaked or 2 cups pearled barley
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

1. In a large soup pot, brown the ground beef (or turkey), onion, and garlic until the ground beef is completely cooked through. Be sure to break up the ground beef into small pieces.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the soup pot. Add more water or tomato sauce if you would like to thin the soup.

3. Stir the soup, breaking up the frozen baby peas. Once the baby peas are broken up, cover the pot and let it simmer over medium heat. Occasionally stir.

4. Let the soup simmer for about 1 hour. Simmer longer if the barley is not cooked through. Add more water or tomato sauce if needed or desired.

5. Serve and enjoy! Leftover soup can be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. This soup freezes very well! It also meets the requirements for the Weight Watchers "core" plan.