Beef & Barley Soup

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I'm sure looking forward to spring. Are you with me? From some of the photos I've been seeing, there are those of you who are seeing sprouts of green in your gardens & are feeling the sun on your faces. We are sure seeing the sun here in Saskatchewan, but our gardens are still buried under 2 feet of snow. No tulips will be seen for awhile...

For the time being, we are hunkering down, staying warm, & trying not to envy the people who are holidaying or living in warmer climates. My parents are in Mexico right now... sigh. (I choose to be happy, I choose to be happy.)

Anyway, how was your long weekend? Ours was good. My husband is now in his last week of school. Soon he'll be a journeyman plumber! (I'm so proud!) He did a lot of studying on the weekend, so the kids & I hung out together, but we went swimming as a family on Saturday. On Monday afternoon, I fired up my iTunes podcast library (my fav thing to do while I'm cooking or baking is listen to preaching podcasts. I learn a lot & am encouraged in the process) as well as the oven. I made a chocolate cake, chewy ginger cookies, biscuits, & a big pot of this yummy Beef & Barley Soup...

Only one change. I used venison this time. It's delicious with either kind of meat. After it simmers together for an hour & a half, you can't even taste the difference.

Beef & Barley Soup  adapted from the Crazy Plates cookbook

makes 8 servings

1-1/2  pounds of stewing beef or venison, trimmed of fat & cut into bite-sized pieces.

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped onions

1 clove garlic, minced

7 cups water

4 tsp. beef bouillon powder

1 cup tomato sauce

2/3 cup pearl barley

1-1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

3/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 tsp. salt

Parsley for garnish

Spray a large soup pot with non-stick spray. Add beef or venison & brown on all sides over high heat. Work in batches if necessary.

Reduce heat to medium. Add veggies & garlic. Cook & stir for 5 more minutes. Add all remaining ingredients to pot, except parsley. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover & simmer for 1-1/2 hours, until beef is very tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with parsley & serve hot.

For another cold weather favourite, check out: 

Potato Soup & Cheddar Biscuits

~~~~~

You know, I've realized that I haven't posted many non-baking related recipes for months now. I figured out why at last... in the winter months the sun goes down so early here that the lighting to terrible to take photos of dinner or anything made in the late afternoon. I've tried & I'm never happy with the results. Now that the days are getting longer I'm able to capture decent photos once again! Hurrah!

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