Easy Beef Stew with Barley

That's right. Barley. How often do you get to cook with barley? I can say it was a first for me. I was feeling pretty legit until I couldn't find the barley after scouring the supermarket. Any guesses on where it was hiding? It was in the Hispanic foods aisle (Goya brand). So, be patient and thorough in your search, or just ask a friendly staff member where this particular grain is stashed in your grocery store.

This recipe is in either from my Crock-Pot or Betty Crocker cookbook. I need to make an easy reference chart with all my favorite recipes and the books they are in. Is this a problem for anyone else? Fortunately, I've memorized this recipe now and eliminated the problem of finding it each time.

P.S. This meal goes great with a loaf of freshly baked bread.

Beef & Barley Stew

Ingredients:

-2 pounds of beef stew meat
-2 cans of diced tomatoes
-1 8oz can of tomato sauce
-2 cans (or 3 cups) of beef broth
-1 1/2 cups of water
-2/3 cup barley
-1 diced onion
-1 cup frozen green beans (we added a whole bag and it turned out great)
-1 cup frozen corn
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp dried thyme
-1/4 tsp pepper
-optional: serve with freshly grated Parmesan on top

Directions:
(There are several ways to cook this meal and each number below presents a different option.)

1. Dice onion, open cans and packages, and throw everything into the crock-pot at once. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. This method works well if you are going to be gone all day. Some of the barley will probably get stuck to the bottom if you are not home to stir. We didn't find that this affected taste or anything. Just try not to scrape the bottom of the crock-pot when you serve up stew. 

2. Put the beef in the crock-pot with all of the liquid ingredients and seasonings. Cook on high for an hour or two. Then add vegetables and barley and turn heat to low. Serve stew when beef and barley are cooked through. If you woke up late on the weekend and are trying to make sure your dinner is ready on time, this works well. You shave at least an hour or two off of your cook time.

3. This is a Crock-Pot recipe, but you could easily modify this for the stove top by cooking the beef and barley separately and then adding them to a large stock pot with everything else to simmer.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It had become a new fall favorite around here.