Chicken Barley Soup from Everyday Food, October 2011

Ingredients
1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
4 carrots, diced small
4 celery stalks, diced small
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
5 sprigs thyme (I used dried)
1 cup quick-cooking barley (I used regular barley)
5 oz. baby spinach (5 cups) (I used frozen and had to adjust the directions accordingly)

Directions
1. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until chicken is opaque at edges, about 2 minutes.
2. Add broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Stir in barley. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until barley is tender and chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Add spinach and cook until wilted, 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

The broth needed a little more body I thought. My brother made a good observation. Next time it definitely needs garlic, and he had an interesting suggestion: cumin. (I was also wondering about throwing in some beans of some sort and/or some small pasta). Very hearty.

Nutrition Facts