I have completely and utterly embraced crock pot cooking. It fits in with busy mom life so neatly because I can take 10 min to throw everything in there in the morning and the crock pot does the rest. This Beef and Barley soup recipe is one of my favorites.
Beef and Barley Crock Pot Soup
Ingredients:
- 1lb stewing beef cubes
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 med size carrots (diced)
- 3 stalks celery (diced)
- 1.5 cartons beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 tsp coriander seed (ground)
- splash balsamic vinegar
- splash Worcestershire sauce
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup pot barley
Instructions:
Place onion, garlic, carrots and celery in food processor and wiz until finely diced (about pea size pieces). Place in bottom of crock pot. Place your beef in crock pot. Add seasonings, vinegar and worcestershire to crock and cover with beef stock.
Set your Crock Pot for 6 hours (on high) or 8 hours (on low).
Walk away.
1 hour before the end of the cooking time add in your pot barley. At this time I fish out all the beef cubes and rough chop them up into bite sized pieces. Return back to the crock pot for remainder of cook time.
When time is up, you’re done! Serve and Enjoy
NOTE: a real chef would tell you to brown your meat before adding it into the pot, and to de-glaze your saute pan to get all the flavor from your beef. I don’t have time for that and it’s a step you can skip in this recipe…the flavor is just as nice if you ask me!
NOTE #2: Beef and Barley Soup is a forgiving recipe for your crock pot. Adjust seasonings and spices to your taste and it would do well to add in additional root veggies if you have them lying around. Potato, parsnip, turnip etc would be yummy too – just add them in a fine dice at the beginning with the onion & carrots 🙂 Oh! And if you have a bottle of opened red wine you need to dispose of – you can use it in place of the balsamic.
I’m going to have to bookmark this one. I am Queen of the Crockpot Fail. I am.
More crockpot recipes, please!
you really can’t screw this one up…go for the Crock Pot Win!
I can’t wait to have a real sized kitchen so I can get my crock pot out again. it’s been packed away for over 2 years because I just don’t have any space to spare to plug it in and leave it all day.
oh man really? That sucks. One time I had the crock pot going and I THOUGHT I unplugged the bread machine to plug something else in (phone charger I think) and I unplugged the crock pot by mistake. Happy I noticed in time or I would have been so pissed at dinner to realize it hadn’t cooked!
That sounds yummy!
It was! We had it for dinner last night and there’s enough leftovers for lunch too….looking forward to it!
MMMMmmmm!!! Yum! Thanks for the great recipe! I’m always on the lookout for yummy crock-pot ideas, and I’ll have to try this one! (love the tips – I agree, browning meat before crock is a bit of a waste if you have enough time to fully cook it in the crock pot, just as tender)
This sounds absolutely delish! I will have to try it this weekend (the only time I have time to cook for my boyfriend, and I’m gunna do it slacker-style! ;P).
Take care! =)
2 questions! How many ounces are in: 1.5 cartons beef stock? I use boullion cubes!
What about “pot barley”? I have pearl barley that is dry. Can I put 1/2 cup of dry barely in?
Hi Laura,
I am Canadian 🙂 so I use litre sized cartons which are 1000ml = approx 34oz. And yes, any kind of dry barley would work well.
Just wondering if you’ve heard of Crockpot Liners. These have made using my crockpot even better! You simply place the plastic bag in the crockpot before filling. Cook all day like usual, and when you finish eating, empty the leftovers and throw the bag away! There is no cleanup needed! It’s AMAZING!! Here’s a link to their site. If you love your crockpot now, just wait! 🙂
http://www.reynoldspkg.com/reynoldskitchens/en/product.asp?prod_id=3200
I too love my crockpot and am always looking for new recipes, thanks..
This looks delicious! I love beef and barley. My problem is my boys are jerks and won’t eat “soup.” I have no idea why. Weirdos.
I’m suddenly hungry for dinner all over again. Yum!
I love using my crockpot. Your recipe sounds yummy. The great thing about the crockpot is that if you have a cheaper cut of beef, it makes the beef so tender. Have you ever tried onion soup mix with a can of mushroom soup poured over a cut of beef?