Chicken Soup with Vegetables and Barley

Directions

1. Add whole chicken to a sufficiently large stock pot and add enough cold water to cover the chicken thoroughly, add bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently for 2 hours, skimming off foam occasionally

2. In the meantime, in a medium saucepan add barley and enough water to cover it.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and gently simmer for about 40 minutes. Strain and set aside when done

3. Remove the stock pot with chicken from heat and take the chicken out of the pot. Remove all the meat from the chicken, pull or dice into bite-size pieces and set aside

4. Carefully strain stock using cheesecloth or a fine sieve. De-grease as needed. Keep approx. 5-6 cups stock for this recipe and store the remainder for future use

5. Add 5-6 cups stock back to stock pot. Add vegetables, season well with salt and pepper, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables have softened

6. Add chicken to soup, along with barley and heat through

7. Season again to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve