BEEF TOMATO-BARLEY SOUP

By TheKitchenQueen

colleens recipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef chuck roast
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 1 cup celery chopped
• 2 cups carrot chopped
• 4 large potatoes cubed
• 2/3 cup pearl barley (don’t leave out)(2) 32 ounce boxes beef broth
• (1) 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• (2) heaping teaspoons beef bullion granules

Preparation

Step 1

Cut the beef into 1” cubes, removing as much fat as possible. Brown beef in a minimal amount of vegetable oil until beef is nice and crusty brown (this is where the majority of your soup flavor will come from, so don't skip this step).
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Remove beef from fry pan and drain off as much fat as you can; add onion, celery and carrots. Using the moisture from the veggies, de-glaze any crusty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. If the brown bits are stubborn, add a table spoon of water and use your spatula to scrape up the fond . Cook until onions are transparent.
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Put the beef and sauteed vegetables in the crockpot and add the rest of the ingredients, stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours.
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NOTE: Do not leave out barley. It not only gives a wonderful flavor to the soup, but it thickens the broth.

NOTE: Put any vegetables you like in the soup, just make sure they are vegetables that can stand up to long cooking times.

NOTE: Taste the soup for salt when it is almost done cooking.