Peanut Life Adventures: Beef

Monday, February 3, 2014

Crockpot Beef and Barley Soup

One of my husband's all time favorite winter meals is my classic Beef Stew that I make. We had a HUGE string of cold weather in January (many many many days below zero!) Local schools were even closed for five days. It was crazy. And it had me craving warm hearty dinners that could warm me up from the inside. Of course, I don't always have a ton of time to spend in the kitchen, so I'm always looking for easy recipes and love taking advantage of my crockpot.

Ok, back on topic, my husband loves my beef stew, and I was looking to mix it up a bit. I found some different Beef and Barley soup recipes online, and made a few tweaks, and made it more stew like (since my husband likes stews as opposed to soup) and here you have another great warm meal to make in your crock pot!
Enjoy!

Beef and Barley Stew in the Crockpot
Ingredients:

1 pound stew meat
4 carrots
4 cloves garlic
5 ribs celery
3 cups of beef broth (3 cups hot water, 3 tsp of beef bullion)
3 additional cups hot water
1 cup barley

Directions:
Chop vegetables and add to crockpot. Chop/crush/or mince the garlic. Pour in water and beef broth. Add in the stew meat. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. 30 minutes before you want to eat, add in the barley and simmer until the barley and beef are tender.
Serve with fresh bread!
Enjoy and stay warm!

<-- Click on the magic button for nutritional info and a printer friendly version

Linking up at These Great Parties

Cold winter nights are coming to a end. Or they should be. It's snow right now on this Monday morning. In fact, we are under a winter weather advisory. Fun Fact - Its snowed or iced every Monday since Jan 28th. Where was all that snow during December and early January when I wanted to go skiing???
Before spring arrives I wanted to share one of my favorite go to winter recipes. Nothing is better on a cold night than coming home to a cozy house and smelling a hot dinner cooking. This stew is super simple and I love that it is cooked in the crock pot. I throw the ingredients in in the morning and then when M comes home a hot and filling dinner is waiting. Win! Pair it with a loaf of homemade bread(tutorials coming soon) and you ave a winning combination. :) Enjoy while you wait for spring to arrive.

Ingredients
1 lb stew meat
3 medium potatoes
4 carrots
4 cups beef both (4 teaspoons beef bullion and 4 cups hot water)

Directions
Wash and skin carrots and potatoes. Chop into bite size pieces. Place all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 4-6 hours. It's that easy! Pair with crackers and homemade bread. Enjoy!