- 2 tbl butter
- bacon (about 1/4 cup cubed or sliced)
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 carrots cut into bite size pieces
- 2 stalks of celery cut into bite size pieces
- 3/4 cup barley
- 4 cups of chicken stock (32oz box)
- 3 cups of water
- 1/4 cup sherry
- 2 potatoes cut into bite size pieces
- 2 sausage links
- handful of parsley
there are many times during the year i feel thankful, thanksgiving for obvious reasons. sometimes i get so caught up in cooking and planning i forget about those less fortunate.
i consider myself very lucky, i get to celebrate with my whole family. both set of parents are always in attendance as well as our brothers and sisters, cousins and friends. when i think about having everyone here i feel blessed.
i can buy a turkey and make a plethora of sides, i can whip up desserts and run to the store and not hesitate at the price of unsweetened cocoa or espresso powder. some of us are not that lucky. the other day i read a post from a blogger i follow often, scary mommy. i don’t know jill, i only read her blog. i’m one of those bloggers who sits on the sidelines, i’m kind of shy so i don’t comment often but this time i couldn’t help myself. jill posted about thanksgiving.
her post made me really stop and think about my situation and how lucky i am. there are so many people out there who are not as lucky. it’s not easy now a days, a lot of people are out of work or they just don’t make enough for extras, like holidays such as thanksgiving. i pledged to donate so someone out there could enjoy a proper holiday meal, i hope you can too. all you have to do is leave a comment on this link (here) and jill will contact you, match you up with a family and get the ball rolling. if you can’t donate that’s ok too, share this post and get the word out there.
i feel odd posting a recipe after the above but that’s what i do. i post recipes. i found this recipe the other day over at saveur.com. i just could not resist, mainly because i love barley and i love soup.
i never really thought to serve soup at thanksgiving dinner. growing up, we walked into my aunts house, we had some apps (crackers and cheese) and then we all sat down and ate. when e and i were dating we went to his cousins house for thanksgiving. we started with a lentil soup. soup is always a nice way to start off a meal don’t you think?
this soup is great. you can serve it in little ramekins instead of bowls, add some croutons for extra crunch and texture. if you are thinking about soup for a first course, this is the soup to make.
barley soup with bacon and sausage
- in a dutch oven melt butter and add bacon. cook bacon until almost browned. add onion, carrot and celery. cook for about 5 minutes.
- to the vegetables add barley, cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- to pot add: stock, water, sherry, potatoes, sausage links and about a tbl of fresh chopped parsley.
- bring soup up to a boil and then simmer for about an hour.
- take sausage out of the pot, cut and add back in to pot.
serve as a first course or in general, as a meal.
remember, if you can, please head over to scary mommy. if you can’t donate its ok, just spread the word.
