Friendship Soup or Amish Weekday Soup - Hearty Soups

½ cup dry split peas

1/3 cup beef bouillon granules

¼ cup pearl barley

½ cup dry red lentils

¼ cup dried onion flakes

2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

¼ cup dried parsley

½ cup uncooked long-grain white rice

1 bay leaf

½ cup uncooked small pasta, such as ditalini

In 1 quart jar, layer the split peas, bouillon, barley, lentils, onion flakes, Italian seasoning and rice. Put the pasta in small sandwich bag or plastic wrap, and place in the jar. Seal tightly. Attach label to the jar with the following instructions…

Remove pasta from top of jar and set aside. In large pot over medium heat, brown beef with pepper and garlic; drain excess fat. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water and soup mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about an hour, until peas and lentils are soft. Stir in the pasta, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pasta, peas, lentils and barley are tender. Add spinach, cook briefly until spinach wilts. Remove bay leaf before serving. Makes 12 generous servings.

Additional Ingredients

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

Black pepper to taste

Garlic powder to taste

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

3 quarts water

2 cups fresh spinach, optional