Hearty Beef & Barley Stew

The weather has been absolutely beautiful where we live but it is December and this is the time of year I break out the hearty satisfying stews.  One pot meals are easy and delicious and this stew in particular is very filling, it is loaded with lots of beef and tomatoes!

As with all of my recipes there is a lot of flexibility with how you make it.  I know many people want every soup or stew you make to come out exactly the same but I prefer variables because one that means you are cooking seasonally and you are also using what you have which is one of my life mantra’s!

As you can see this stew was loaded with a lot of beef……I don’t remember the exact cut of meat on this one but I know it’s better because it was a little pricier per pound.  Also I do leave the fat on the back of the meat but you could take it off it is all up to you and your preference.

First I put some olive oil in the bottom of a pan and then I take all of the chopped up beef for beef stew and I place it in a ziplock bag with flour and shake all the pieces to coat evenly as shown below:

Once the meat is fried in the pan it will leave in the pan kind of a gravy starter to this pan I add the onions, mushrooms, leeks, garlic, and then later the canned tomatoes and I let them cook up for a few minutes until the onions start getting wilted and then I pour all of these items into the crock pot.  Most of the other ingredients such as the spices, the Lipton Onion Soup Mix, the Barley and the Carrots, along with the Consomme all go into the crock pot for a couple of hours.

I did not add a beef broth seasoning to this recipe I let the beef drippings and the Consomme do all of that work and then I add salt and pepper to taste later I really think it keeps the salt down too.

Hearty Beef & Barley Stew

2lbs of beef ( a little more tender cut is good)

one whole onion

one can of whole or sliced tomatoes (the larger kind)

1 Can of Consomme

if you have some dried tomatoes like I do chop some up and thrown them in

6 mushrooms

1/3 to 1/2 C. of Barley to your liking

1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (I don’t usually use this but I had it so I did)

thyme for seasoning

red pepper for seasoning

salt and pepper for seasoning

1 bay leaf

I hope your family will sit down soon and enjoy a meal of a hearty, healthy stew such as this and a steaming loaf of hot bread.  It’s very sustaining especially during the holidays when everyone is running to and fro and has a to do list a mile long.  This meal is simple and satisfying!

From my Homestead to Yours!

Enjoy!

This blog is linked to Sunday Night Soup Night!