Bean Vegetable Medley

Submitted by Rita1652

• Ready In: 1hr 40mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 medium green pepper, cut into strips
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 2 cups red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (10 ounce) packet frozen baby lima beans
• 1 cup quick-cooking barley
• 2⁄3 cup parsley, Chopped
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper, Ground
• 3 cups boiling water
• 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese, Grated

directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet.
2. Add onion, celery, and green pepper.
3. Cook slowly for 10 minutes.
4. Do not brown.
5. Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, lima beans, barley, parsley, salt, basil, and black pepper.
6. Transfer mixture to a buttered 2-to 3 quart casserole with lid.
7. Add boiling water.
8. Cover.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1/2 hours or until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed.
10. Sprinkle with grated cheese before serving.
11. Good served with: Marinated, slightlt blanched mixed vegetables, hot French bread and butter.
12. Tips: This dish can be assembled and baked later.
13. Add the boiling water just before baking.
14. Baking time should be increased by 15 minutes when starting refrigerated temperature.

Reviews

[Aunt Cookie]

This was a very nice, healthful dish, and it was very easy to make. It was very good as-is, but next time I think I will experiment with some more spices (probably of the Italian variety) and I will add at least half of the parsley after the casserole is done cooking. By the way, I used regular barley (not the quick-cooking kind), and it worked just fine. Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Shelby]

I wavered between 5 stars and 4 stars, but finally chose 5. Anyways, I made some changes to this- left out all added salt, and didn't use canned foods. I also used water instead of oil. I didn't chop with cheese, and this was still pretty dang good for a healthy food item. Because I'm an idiot and didn't have basil, I used toni gifford's suggestion of chili powder, which I highly reccomend. I used 1 tsp, but next time I'll probably use like 1 and half. This froze pretty well, and I have plenty left over- this entire recipe made abou 13 cups; the casserole was full! Anyways, thanks for the recipe.

 

[justcallmetoni]

OMG I'm so surprised this has not been reviewed before now. I just loved this one as it includes many of my favorite ingredients. The color contrast from the greens (veggies and parsley), reds (beans & tomatoes) and tan (barley) made this dish look as appealing as it tasted. Moreover for me its a great map for all sorts of nice variations. Tonight I tossed in a small sliced zucchini and three sliced mushrooms in a effort to clear the produce bin before going on a trip. I also added a clove of minced garlic to the onions, celery and peppers. Finally, I should mention that I only used 1 tablespoon of oil which was just fine. Next time, I think I'm going to replace the basil with chili powder and the parley with cilantro. Should also note that this makes huge portions. I made half the recipe and its enough for 3 lunches or 4 entrees. Thanks Rita!