Slow Cooker Beef and Barley

 Super nice slow cooker dish. Minimal effort and left to cook on its own. Will definitely cook this again.

 

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• ¾ pound beef stew meat cut into ½ inch pieces
• ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (about ½ cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, or 2 teaspoons minced garlic in a jar
• 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
• One 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices
• ½ cup pearled barley
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Dry off the meat with paper towels and then sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
3. Add the meat to the pan and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total.
4. Transfer to a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker.
5. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion begins to soften about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute.
6. Scrape the mixture from the skillet into the slow cooker. (If there are any browned bits still remaining in the skillet, add a little of the beef broth to de-glaze the pan and then add to the slow cooker.)
7. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, broth, tomatoes, barley, and thyme to the slow cooker and stir to blend.
8. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish each serving with a sprinkling of parsley, if desired.

Slow Cooker Meals

Winter is here, so the slow cooker meals are back in action. I tried this on Monday and it was pretty tasty. Will need to reduce the cooking time next time as the beef was dry from cooking overnight.

http://simple-nourished-living.com/2011/11/hearty-beef-and-vegetable-soup-recipe-for-the-slow-cooker/

Ingredients

• 1 cups low sodium beef broth
• 3 cups water
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound top found stead, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 large carrots, diced
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 large (1/2-pound) baking potato, peeled and diced
• 2 turnips, peeled and diced
• ¾ cup frozen peas, thawed
• ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley, optional
• Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Whisk together the broth, water, tomato paste, thyme and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker until smooth and well combined.
2. Stir in the cubes of beef, carrots, celery, onion, potato and turnips.
3. Cover and cook until the beef and vegetables are fork tender, 4-6 hours on high or 8-12 hours on low.
4. At the end of cooking stir in the peas. Cover and cook until the peas are heated through, about 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper