From: Jane & Mike Harrell

Ingredients

1 1/4   cups               Barley (Quaker Oats – regular not quick)
1- 4      lbs.                 Beef, Ground
1          Tbl                  Butter
1          Large pkg      Carrots, baby,sliced
1          pkg                  Celery: diced
2         Medium          Onions, diced
1           Tbl                  Pepper
5           lb. bag            Potatoes, Idaho, cubed
1           Tbl                   Salt
3-4       cups                Tomatoes, canned, diced
1          Quart jar        V-8 Juice
2         Quarts             Water

Directions

In a heavy dutch oven, melt butter and sauted diced onions.
Remove to soup kettle.

In heavy dutch oven, brown the ground beef and pour off liquid.
Add meat to soup kettle.

To soup kettle add….
Tomatoes, celery carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper, barley, V-8 juice & water.

Over medium high heat, bring soup to boil and let boil 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to low medium.
Let soup simmer at least an hour.
Barley will expand and make the soup thicker.
If you don’t want it so thick, you may add more water.

Freezes great!  Keeps up to 5 days in the refrigerator.