Chicken and Barley Soup

By charlotteh371

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (about 4)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery (about 4)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as desired
• 3/4 cup pearl barley (uncooked)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp of each dried rosemary, thyme, and marjoram
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup slightly packed, chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion and saute 3 - 4 minutes, add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Stir in chicken broth, barely, bay leaves, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until barely is tender, about 50 - 60 minutes.
Stir in chicken, parsley and lemon juice and serve warm. As soup rests the barely will absorb more liquid so add more chicken broth to thin as desired.