Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

     This has been a really crazy winter in terms of the weather. It was cold early, then very warm right before Christmas and then the Polar Vortex, with another one coming again this week.  

     When the freezing cold weather hits, all I want to do is to stay inside. And when I am inside, all I want to do is cook. It doesn't matter to me if I cook sweet or savory. If I make meals or desserts. Cooking or baking. When I am in the kitchen, I am happy.  

     So with this upcoming Polar Vortex, here is a great stick to your ribs soup. It will fill you up and warm you from the inside.  

     Please be sure to follow the directions of the barley that you use. This time I used Goya barley and it took 30 minutes to cook, but there is quick cook barley which only takes a few minutes.  Just take notice.

     I will give you my recipe, but feel free to substitute any vegetables that you like or have on hand.  I usually add fresh green beans, but didn't have any, so I used mushrooms instead. If you like peas or Lima beans (I don't) they would be perfect in here as well.  Experiment and have fun.

     This will make a nice big pot of soup and with the barley it gets thicker when leftover.  You could even thicken it up a bit more with some cornstarch and put it in a pie plate, top with a refrigerated pie crust and have a pot pie.  

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

2 TBSP canola oil

1 1/2-2 pounds stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup barley

6 cups beef stock 

3 cans stewed tomatoes (I used 1 can of Rotel)

3 stalks celery, chopped

5 carrots, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

5 large red potato, chopped 

1 green squash, chopped

1 lb green beans, chopped 

1 lb mushrooms, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp black pepper

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

juice of one lemon

In a large dutch oven brown the stew meat in the oil.  Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add the rest of the veggies, stock, pepper, Italian seasoning and the lemon juice.  Bring to a boil,stir thoroughly to combine. Cover and turn down to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Add your barley and continue to cook until the barley is done.  

Barbecue Brisket

My family loves BBQ Brisket.  The last time I made it, my oldest had a few of his friends over and everyone enjoyed it.
I got the recipe a few years ago when I went to Wegmans. They were giving samples and it was so good that I had to try it.
I use any flavor barbecue sauce that I have on hand. I happened to have STUBB'S today. 

4-6 lbs boneless brisket
salt and pepper
flour
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 tsp Better than Bullion Beef Base
1 bottle (18 oz) Barbecue Sauce


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the brisket in half, season with salt and pepper and dust lightly with the flour.
Heat oil on a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Working with one half of the brisket at a time. Sear the brisket on each side until paper-bag brown. Keep browned halves on a clean plate until needed.
Add the beef base to the water, stirring to combine.  Add this to the pot, loosening the browned bits with a wooden spoon.  Cook until reduced by half. Stir in barbecue sauce.
Return brisket halves to pan  Cover and place in the oven. Cook for about 3 hours, until meat is fork tender.
Transfer brisket to a serving platter. Cut thick slices making sure to cut against the grain.  Skim fat from the sauce, cook an additional 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Serve with the barbecue sauce.

Spicy Roast Beef

My family are carnivores! We love meat! I love this recipe for a nice fall day. Make it the day before and it is even more spicy!   I got he recipe from the Pioneer Woman, but I tweaked it a little to make it my own. I kind of eyeballed some of the ingredients, so you can do the same. Just remember that this is SPICY! You can use any kind of peppers and tomatoes that you have on hand. Adjust the peppers to your "heat", this is very spicy.  You could also omit the peppers and only use the broth and tomatoes to make a nice kid-friendly beef.
This makes enough for a crowd or for leftovers.  You can cut the recipe in half easily, also.

2    3 pound chuck roast each
Salt and pepper
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP canola oil
4 cups beef broth
3-4 TBSP fresh chopped rosemary
1 jar pepperoncinis , with juice
1 jar cherry peppers, drained ( hot or mild)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Hearty rolls, toasted
Sliced deli cheese ( provolone, mozzarella, Munster)

Preheat oven to 300.
Season the roasts with salt and pepper. Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy Dutch oven.  Brown each roast until paper bag brown, rest them on a plate.
Pour the beef broth in the pot, stirring up any browned bits from the pot.  Add the rosemary, both peppers, and the tomatoes. Stir all of this until combined. Add the roasts back to the pot and place the lid on. Place the pot in the oven for about 4-41/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender.
Remove the roasts from the pot and shred with 2 forks. Return the meat to the pot, and keep warm on the stove while serving.  Serve on toasted rolls and top with sliced cheese.

TIP!
Making this the day before, you can refrigerate and then skim the fat off the top before reheating.