Hello World! It’s been ages, and I mean ages, since I published on my blog. But the weather here is below zero, it’s dangerous to go anywhere outside, and so I decided there’s no better time than now to reconnect with all the people who may still be following this blog.
What is it about really cold weather that makes you want to sit and enjoy a cup of hot hearty soup? So, in preparation for these few days of sub zero fun, I decided to whip out the old slow cooker and make a batch of beef barley soup.
I never made this recipe before, at least not in recent memory, and I had chuck roast roast meat in the freezer and all the other ingredients on hand so I thought what the heck, give it a try. And boy am I glad I did! The hardest part of the recipe was finding barley at my local grocery store. I wanted regular barley and not quick cooking barley and trying to find that was like going on a scavenger hunt. But, with persistence, I prevailed and put together a soup that was to die for.
In the past, I’ve posted lessons learned when making recipes. This one was so simple, the only caveat I would provide is to sear the beef before putting it into the slow cooker. Not only does it provide great color to the meat, it also adds a depth of flavor you don’t get from simply dumping the meat into the slow cooker.
And for those reading the recipe and not sure what beef base is, below is what I used. You can easily find it in the grocery store in the soup aisle most often near the bouillon.
Beef Barley Soup
INGREDIENTS:
1-2 pounds of chuck roast trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
olive oil
3 large carrots sliced into discs
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 package baby bella mushrooms
3 Tb. beef base
8-10 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Brown the beef and set aside. Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Add the beef making sure to add any drippings from the browning process. Add the beef base and water. Cook on high for two hours.
Add the pearl barley and continue to cook for 3 hours on low. Add the mushrooms and cook for another hour. (Mushrooms will shrink in size and lose their texture if you cook them to long in a slow cooker).
Remove the bay leaf. Stir in salt and pepper. Serve with a salad and crusty bread.
You Betcha Can Make This! 
I can’t wait to try this soup. It sounds 😋 delicious
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