Beef-Barley Soup

papergoddess's Note:

Hearty, easy one dish meal that cooks itself while you're gone. Serve with salad and bread, and you have a whole meal.

• Total Time: 8 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 8 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 lbs beef round steak or 2 lbs beef chuck , diced
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 stalk celery , diced
• ½ green pepper , diced
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes , cut up
• ½ cup frozen corn
• ½ cup frozen green bean
• 2⁄3; cup barley
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules or 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¾ teaspoon dried basil
• 5 cups water

Directions:

1. In skillet brown beef.
2. Place carrot, celery, green pepper, onion, corn and green beans in crock pot.
3. Put meat on top.
4. Combine tomatoes, barley, parsley, bouillon, salt and basil.
5. Pour over meat.
6. Add water.
7. DO NOT STIR.
8. Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours.

Reviews

[Charlotte J]

I think we are all going to bust!! This was great and easy to make. I did not brown the beef in the skillet like you said just lazy I guess. I started my crockpot on high for 1 hour then turned it down to low for 7. We love how thick it came out in the end. I think you could add more hot water if you'd like yours not as thick. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

[Jill77]

Excellent comfort food! I decided to make this without the meat as I was in the mood for a "veggie-barley." Let me tell you, this recipe did not suffer from the lack of beef. I did add a couple of extra boullion cubes to make up for the flavor that might have been lost. It was great! As someone else mentioned, it did come out quite thick, so if you prefer a more liquidy soup, it's no problem to add extra water or broth (as I did). Great recipe PG. Thanks for sharing. This was served with a beautiful salad and some warm bread. Will be doing this one again and again!

[mama dean]

Absolutely wonderful! I followed the recipe exactly, but did not have time to brown the beef. It was thick and flavorful - my husband could not stop raving about it. Papergoddess - you must chop a lot faster than I do, though - it took me 30 min. of prep time instead of 15 (maybe because it was 6:30 a.m. when I was chopping!) I cooked it on low for the full 10 hrs. The whole family liked it (which is no small feat). Thanks!