Poor Man's Lenten Vegetable Barley Soup

This is a recipe I fix when I need an inexpensive Friday dish. We are making it tonight so I can have leftovers tomorrow. It will be about 12-14 servings depending on how much water you add.

1 sweet onion diced
3 stalks of celery diced
1 lg. bag or 2 sm. bags of frozen mixed veg.
1 lg. can tomato sauce
1 lg. can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup barley(from box)
1 tbsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. dried tarragon
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Put first 3 ingredients in 3 quarts of water. Simmer then add tomato, barley and herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 30-40 minutes on stovetop or until onions and barley are tender.

I learned how to cook soups from my grandpa. I inherited his "soup pot" so I feel obligated to continue making soups. I love having this one around for Friday meals because it is great year round. I know it sounds easy but it is yummy and great with simple bread and butter. Or you could just run to a fish fry and forget trying to be healthy....