Crockpot Vegetable Barley Soup

I continued on this new trend of "Crockpot Wednesday", aka "I don't have time to cook after I get home with two kids and I'm out of leftovers Wednesday".  This week I looked in the fridge and pantry and decided "how about a soup with barley and vegetables."

I googled and found this recipe and just used the veggies that I had, which were:
frozen tri color peppers
onions
garlic
canned tomatoes
frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, carrots, lima beans)
carrots
tiny bit of butternut squash

I also added the spices and homemade chicken stock, water, and a bouillon cube.  As usual, I forgot the salt and it needed it badly.

Night 2 was better (I salted it).  And I topped it with crackers and a little feta.  We ate the soup for three nights with toasted rye bread and bruschetta topping.

The soup was good, but not awesome.  The carrots were crunchy the first night.  I think the key to awesome soup is really to saute the onions and garlic first.  I didn't do that.  If I make it again, I will pre-cook the onions, garlic, and carrots.