Ground Turkey and Barley Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 1 spray nonstick cooking spray
• 1 lb lean uncooked ground turkey
• 5 cups water

• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup spicy v8 juice
• 1/3 cup quick-cooking barley
• 1/3 cup dried split peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 stalks celery & leaves, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 cup)

Directions

1. 1

   Lightly coat a 4-quart Dutch oven or pot with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Cook ground turkey in hot Dutch oven about 5 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain off any fat. Stir in water, undrained tomatoes, V8 juice, barley, split peas, salt, oregano, basil, black pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Stir celery into soup mixture. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes more or until celery and barley are tender. Remove and discard bay leaf. Makes.