Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Vegetable Beef and Barley Soup-Slow Cooker Version

Hey everyone! My electronic 4 quart pressure cooker from QVC doubles as a true 180 degree slow cooker so I'll try a crock pot meal every once in a while. I happened upon this Beef and Barley Soup recipe at Cooking Tip of the Day, and fired up the slow cooker before I left for work.

Vegetable Beef and Barley Soup

Vegetable Beef and Barley Soup
1 1/2 lbs lean stew meat, cut into small pieces
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 C baby carrots, sliced
1 C frozen corn
1 C frozen green beans
1 C frozen peas
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
2 (32oz) cans beef broth
2/3 C barley
*1 tsp oregano
*1 tsp basil
*1 Tblsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
-Place all in crock pot and cook on low for 9 hours or high for 5 hours.

Notes-I made a half batch:
  • My pressure cooker has a browning function, I did cook the onions and garlic a bit before adding everything else.
  • I had the little ugly end (yes that is a cooking term:@) of a beef tenderloin in the freezer so it went into the pot.
  • I cut up a fat carrot then added frozen corn and green beans. After the soup was done I added some frozen peas. 
  • Had Mushroom Salt so that's what I used.
  • *Spices for this half batch: 1 tsp Italian Seasoning and 1 tsp basil-I might add more next time.
  • I cut the barley back to 1/4 cup-wanted a thinner, broth based soup.
  • As for using one half of a can of diced tomatoes, if you don't have plans to use the other half soon you can freeze them.
Eat well and have a happy day:@)

Joining: Foodie Friday