Best Beef Barley Soup

By jab120638

This is one of my favourite recipes for leftover roast beef - its delicious on a cold winter night!!If you don't have leftover beef, substitute with 1 lb of extra-lean ground beef, to be cooked with the onions. "Demi glace" or "au jus" can be found with the prepackaged gravies & sauces in the supermarket - you just won't get the same great flavour if you omit it!!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced thin
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup barley
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup cooked cubed roast beef (at least)
• 1 (1 ounce) package demi-glace or 1 (1 ounce) package au jus mix

Preparation

Step 1

Directions:

1 Heat oil in large Dutch oven.

2 Saute onions and garlic.

3 Add veggies and cook for about 10 minutes.

4 Add broth, water and barley.

5 Cover the pot and bring to a boil.

6 Add Worcestershire, spices and beef.

7 Stir in demi-glace.

8 Lower heat and simmer for 30- 45 minutes or until veggies and barley are tender.