I make this dry soup mix as a Christmas gift. And since I work at a school I go into the Mexican section and get the tiny pasta in the shapes of the letter and shapes.
TO MAKE THE DRY SOUP MIX
1 -14 oz. dred split peas
1 - 12 oz. pearl barley
1 - 12 oz. lentil - golden not green for the color ( could use green if can't find the gold)
1 1/2 cup brown rice
4 cups dried minced onion (I don't use that much)
1 - 14 oz. pkg macaroni (see the note above)
This makes 12 cups of mix.

TO MAKE A BATCH OF SOUP
6 cups of water
1 1/3 cup soup mix
1 1/2 t. salt
2 carrots, sliced (I like the baby carrots)
1-2 cups cabbage, shredded
2 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 - 24 oz. vegetable juice, like V-8
1 lb. meat - like ground beef, or left-over roast.

Bring water, soup mix, and slat to boil. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Add carrots, cerely, cabbage, tomato sauce, vegetable juice and meat. Simmer 30 minutes.

I have a friend that can not have anything with flour. So I make this without the macaroni.