Halloween Soup (Beef with Barley)

Traditions are the things that make me look fondly back on childhood. Growing up, my family had traditions for every occasion—holidays, seasons, birthdays—and Halloween was no exception. 

Each year, my mother would work tirelessly in the weeks leading up to the spooky holiday to sew costumes for my brother and me. On the day of, we’d go trick or treating with childhood friends in the neighborhoods where the houses were closer together (we hardly ever had trick or treaters on our street thanks to a very steep hill and a thick expanse of trees). Afterwards, we’d come home to warm up with Halloween Soup as we sorted our candy treasures. 

Even though I no longer dress up for Halloween, there’s one tradition I like to keep: Mom’s Halloween Soup. It’s simple to put together, tastes even better reheated, and is full of hearty ingredients, so it’s the ultimate dinner for a busy night of trick or treating. My daughter is too young to trick or treat just yet, but she’ll definitely be enjoying this soup on Halloween as we hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. And she’ll be wearing the costume that I sewed for her (with her grandmother’s supervision, of course). Here’s to traditions, old and new! Recipe below. 

P.S. I recently asked my mom where this recipe came from, and she said her grandmother taught it to her. How’s that for keeping traditions alive?

P.P.S. I recommend either buying the very best tomato soup you can find, or making your own.

Halloween Soup 

(Beef with Barley Soup)

Ingredients

• 11/2 lbs ground beef
  

• 22 ounces tomato soup

• 1 large onion

• 3 stalks celery, sliced

• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds

• ¾ cup uncooked barley

Recipe

Brown the ground beef in a large soup pot until no longer pink. Add onions; salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until onions soften. Cover with water halfway up the side of the pot; bring to a boil. Add celery, carrots, and tomato soup; cook for 15 minutes. Add barley and continue simmering for 45-60 minutes. Soup is ready to serve once the barley is tender. 

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