Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Got leftover corned beef? This recipe is from Food Network magazine and it caught my eye right away. I make a lot of soup because it's easy to take to work, and I'm always looking for soups that will freeze well.

If your family's had enough corned beef for now, 

how about freezing the meat and making this soup on a cool, rainy day in April...

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
1 medium onion, quartered
3 stalks celery, quartered
3 medium carrots, quartered
3 Tblsp unsalted butter
Heaping 1/4 tsp ground allspice
1lb plum tomatoes, halved
3 C low-sodium beef broth
4 C water
4 C chopped green cabbage (about 1/4 medium head)
1/2lb Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
3/4 C quick cooking barley
1/4lb corned beef, cut into thin strips (leftovers or deli meat)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Pulse onion, celery and carrot in food processor until pea size.
2. Melt butter over medium heat, add veggies and allspice. Stir till veggies are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Pulse tomatoes in food processor till finely chopped, add to pot.
4. Add beef broth, water, cabbage, potatoes, and barley, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and reduce to simmer until potatoes and barley are tender, about 20 minutes. 
5. Stir in corned beef and season with S&P.

What I did differently: I like chunky veggies so I didn't put them through the food processor. Don't have ground allspice so I just tossed two big whole berries into the pot. I had a half a can of diced tomatoes in the freezer (from this recipe) so that's what I used. Didn't have fast cooking barley so I cooked my regular barley in a separate pot until it was almost done, then drained the water and transferred it to the soup. Because the barley was already cooked I reduced the water to about a cup. Also added a little Beef Better Than Bullion to bump up the flavor.

Eat well and have a happy day:@)

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