Friday, November 25, 2011

Super Delicious Beef and Barley Slow Cooked Soup


"Cooking with a crock pot is the best. You can throw a bunch of ingredients in, go back to bed, then when you wake up and invite your friends over to eat, they think you worked really hard instead of sleeping all day."   ~unknown
 This is so quick to throw in the crock pot then before you know it, your house smells so good. When taking your first bite,the unbelievable good smell matches the taste. 

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/3 lb. Boneless beef chuck in one piece
  • 1 1/2 cup of pearl barley
  • 2 cartons of sliced mushrooms
  • One package of celery chopped
  • 4 carrots chopped
  • 2 medium leeks, chopped finely (only white and light green parts)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3 cans of low-sodium beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
  • Bread Bowls *Optional
  • Parmesan Cheese *Optional
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.
Put the beef in the bottom of the crock pot. Then combine the barley, mushrooms, celery, carrots, leeks, thyme, beef broth and soy sauce and put it in the slow cooker. Add 1 cup of white wine and a dash of garlic salt and then ground pepper. 

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. 


This is how it looked when it was done. Yummy. 

 Voila! Uncover. Using a spoon, find the beef and pull it to the top. It will be very tender and will fall apart. Yum! Let cool for a little bit. 


I bought two bread bowls from the bakery at my local grocery store. Cut the tops off and pull some of the bread out of the center.


Then take the tops of the bread bowls buttered and lightly dusted with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Put under the broiler until crispy. 


Pour soup into bread bowls, top soup with a chunk of tender beef and serve with the garlic lid of the bread bowl. 




Not only did this make the house smell delicious, but it tasted so good. Mr.Wonderful just couldn't get enough and kept saying "This is good." The beef is so tender and juicy and it was so easy to make. 


Let me know if you have a different variation or add something different. I would love to hear how it works for you. 


~Amanda

1 comment: