Barley

We had some amazing Barley Casserole this fall after Grandpa passed away. One of my mom's friends dropped it off. I'd never had barley casserole and was skeptical. But I tried it. And loved it!
I wasn't able to get the recipe from her so I asked my mom who said just to use one off the Internet like they had. So I hunted the google and tried this Mushroom and Barley Casserole recipe from My Recipes.com.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon stick margarine
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1 (3 1/2-ounce) package shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
1 (1-ounce) envelope onion soup mix (such as Lipton Recipe Secrets)
4 cups water
Chopped chives (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat margarine in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
Combine barley, onion soup mix, and water in a 3-quart casserole, and stir in mushroom mixture. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed. Garnish casserole with chives, if desired.

Millie helped me watch it cook. And she also unloaded the cabinets while we waited. :) Good kitchen help is hard to find!
It wasn't the best. Even though the ingredients seemed the same the flavor was really bland. We added soy sauce to make it take better. Soy sauce makes everything better, right? We sure thought so. And baby girl agreed. She loved the barley casserole both times!
For the next go around, I made sure I got the exact one my family ate. My mom sent me theirs to try next time from Taste of Home.
Ingredients
1 cup medium pearl barley
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
3 to 3-1/2 cups chicken broth
Directions
In a small skillet, saute barley and onion in butter for 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Transfer to an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish. Stir in the mushrooms, almonds, soup mix and parsley. Add 3 cups broth.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1-1/4 hours or until barley is tender, adding more broth if needed. Yield: 8-10 servings. 

I hope it's better. :)