Quick beef and Barley soup

Here is another one from Eating well.  This one from a few days ago.  This actually wasn't my favorite, so I'm only including a link.  I did double the recipe, but that is about it -didn't have fresh thyme and used dried, but nothing massive - oh, I did use only beef stock, not broth and water.  Still, it was not what I wanted my vegetable beef soup to taste like, and I love vegetable beef soup, so I was a bit disappointed.  It didn't taste bad or anything, it was just only OK, and really not exactly what I was hoping.  :(