Beef Barley Soup for a REALLY Chilly Night

Sub zero temperatures. Wind reaching 45 miles per hour. A flat tire on the Subaru. Three reasons to have a hearty bowl of beef barley soup. I substituted ground deer meat for the beef and threw in random veggies we had in the freezer. I love soup because it's a great way to "clean" out the freezer and fridge.

Beef Barley Soup (my own creation):

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 cup water

2 - 3 cups beef broth

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup pearled barley, uncooked

1 1lb ground deer or beef, cooked

1 cup frozen lima beans (or whatever you have in the freezer or fridge)

2 cups frozen carrots

1 bay leaf

Thyme

Salt and Pepper

Splash Hot Sauce

Bring tomatoes, water, and beef broth to boil. Add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 1 hour in dutch oven. This would be easy to do in a crock pot too.

I had an awesome weekend with my in-laws! I miss them already. :-(

Beef Tips Cabernet

The inspiration for this recipe came from Katie over at Good Things Catered. And, as she mentioned in her post this recipe is "FULL of flavor". I opted to cook mine in a crock pot rather than a dutch oven.

I prepared this recipe for two servings only. It can easily be adjusted to serve more.

1 lb. beef sirloin, trimmed and cut into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 package mushrooms, dusted and quartered
Fresh Rosemary Sprigs ( I used two)
Fresh Thyme ( I used two)
2 Bay leaves
1 cup cabernet sauvigon
1 cup beef broth
flour (for thickening)
salt and pepper (to taste)
Olive oil

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in frying pan. Add beef and brown for 2-3 minutes. Remove beef from the pan and place in crock pot. Add wine to the pan to deglaze. After deglazing add wine to crockpot along with beef broth. Add mushrooms and herbs to the crockpot. Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. Before serving thicken w/ flour and water mixture.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

My mashed potatoes

4 large potatoes, peeled and halved
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
Butter ( I usually add 1/2 a stick)
Milk (A few splashes until I reach the desired consistencey)
Sour Cream (2-3 tablespoons)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring potatoes to boil in stockpot, boil until potatoes are easily pierced by a fork. Remove potatoes from heat and drain. Add garlic, butter, milk, sour cream, and salt and pepper to potatoes. Mash with potato masher or hand blender.

Stewed Green Beans

As mentioned in my Green Beans and Red Potatoes entry, I had planned on using the leftovers to make stewed green beans similar to this recipe on Good Things Catered. Instead of lamb I used beef and I added potatoes. I make a stewed okra that is very similar to this recipe. I highly suggest using okra in place of the green beans. SUPER GOOD!

Since I used leftovers I cut the original recipe down by quite a bit. You will notice the changes in the recipe below.

This made for a really good and filling meal when served over rice.

Stewed Green Beans:

Fresh Green Beans

Red Potatoes

1/2 lb. beef

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

20 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1 bay leaf

Salt and Pepper

In stockpot brown meat in butter. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add tomato sauce and water to the pot. Season with bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 1 hour. Serve over rice.

And, for dessert. Ben and Jerry's One Cheesecake Brownie. Oh, how I miss the days of factory seconds in Vermont.