Janice's Beef-Barley Soup Soup in the Slow Cooker ~ page 36

I know this seems like a winter meal...but on a rainy summer day, soup is good too. And using the slow cooker means you don't heat up your house. I have been known to put my slow cooker on the patio in really hot weather, when the air conditioner seems to be struggling with any heat output going on in the house!

There are two important things in this recipe to remember: Be sure to hunt down a beef bone. Not all grocery stores carry beef bones--but they make all the difference in a flavorful broth. Another tip to pass on, is I have found that it is not really necessary to brown all the stew meat pieces. I just brown one pan-full, then put the browned pieces and the rest of the unbrowned pieces in the slow cooker, then deglaze my pan with wine as the recipe says. The brown bits left from browning are what your are after, and one pan full of browned meat will do the trick and save you some time.

One more tip--sometimes I can't find long-cooking pearl barley, so it is fine to use quick barley. However, add quick barely for the last one hour in the slow cooker--not the whole 7 to 9 hours of cooking time as you would for pearl barley.

I like the simplicity of ingredients in this soup--meat, barley, carrots, onion, and tomatoes, all in a very rich and flavorful broth. This soup gives you a warm, satisfied feeling. ~ Janice