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The supermarket can be a tricky place sometimes. I often find myself wandering down aisles trying to figure out a list of ingredients knowing that, in all honestly, I'll be halfway home before realizing I forgot an important item. I'm usually pretty good at getting in and out but sometimes, especially after a long work shift, I can be a bit...off. My head is booming, my brain is foggy, and those kids in aisle 4 are waaaay too loud. My iPhone has the Notes app that I use religiously in these instances and it allows me to not only make a detailed food list, but I can put food items in order depending where they are located in the supermarket. An example could be:



This way, I'm grabbing things in the order I'm walking through the grocery store and I can get out of there and home in no time. It might seem a bit elementary but it works.

This recipe is incredibly straightforward if you want an easy, cheap, and filling soup. The ingredients are all the basics and you can add other vegetables, seasonings, etc if you feel the urge. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cups of mushrooms, diced
1 16oz box of Swanson Vegetable broth (use a 32oz box if you'd like it a bit more "brothy")
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup pearled barley, uncooked
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large bay leaf
2 tsp olive oil



What to do:
The prep for this takes the most time, otherwise you're just adding all the ingredients and letting it simmer.

Start with a large soup pot, saute the celery, onion, mushrooms, and carrots for 4-5 minutes on med/high heat. Add vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, beans, barley, and spices, reduce heat to medium low. Let the soup simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally and making sure the barley is getting soft. I usually cook this the night before and have it the next day so all the flavors can settle. Either way, it's filling, easy to make, and delicious!