We’ve been fighting sickness this winter, which is surprising because it has been such a mild winter.  We’ve had two big bouts of being sick–the first was just before Christmas when we all had the stomach flu at the exact same time.  That was a hellish ordeal that I hope we never repeat.  Now, Martell has had a cold with a fever all week just after Esmae got over her cold and fever last week, and now I have some sort of bug with a fever and stomach queasiness.

Whenever we’re sick, I make soup.  It seems to warm the bellies, ease the sniffles and give us necessary nutrients to get well.

Last week, Aldi had a quick cook bag of Barley, which to be honest, I’d never bought before.  I quickly googled barley recipes and I found lots of soups, so I decided to give it a try for my next soup.

After making this Chicken Barley Soup, I will certainly buy barley again.  I decided to share the recipe below since nearly everyone I know is sick or has sick children.

Lemon (optional) Chicken Barley Soup

Ingredients:

• 1.5 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium white onion
• 4 carrots chopped
• 4 celery stalks chopped
• 2 Roma Tomatoes chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme
• 2 sage leaves chopped (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt to taste
• 3 chicken thighs
• 6 cups chicken broth (48 fl. oz.)
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup quick cook barley
• Juice from one lemon (optional–I’m a sucker for lemon!)
• Green onion garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Start by heating up your stock pot with your stove set to medium with the 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil. Once it’s melted, add your three (or more) cloves of garlic. Let sauté for about 3-4 minutes until oil is infused, stirring occasionally. 
2. While your garlic is going, dice those four carrots, four celery stalks, one onion, and two tomatoes. Go ahead and add them all to the stockpot , mixing them into the oil well. Let that sauté until the onions lose their transparency. 
3. While you wait on those veggies chop and add in your spices (2 tbsp fresh thyme, 2 sage leaves chopped (optional), 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp garlic powder) as soon as they’re prepped. 
4. Once those onions are transparent and the vibrancy of the veggies has lessened, you can add your six cups of broth + two cups water as well as your three chicken thighs and 3/4 cup barley. If you choose to use the lemon, here’s where you add that as well.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil at least 15 minutes. 
5. Check the thighs are cooked through, cube them (or shred them) and add them back to the pot. 
6. Reduce heat and salt to taste, and add green onion as a garnish if you so choose.

I hope you enjoy the soup, and I hope you all feel better!

Lindsay