Beef (Soup): It's what's for dinner.

As you will quickly learn, I am a huge advocate of my crockpot.  I have gotten to the point that I use it at least about twice per week now.  Being the neat-freak I am, I am somewhat ashamed to admit that it has earned a permanent spot on my kitchen counter. If I can, I chop and prepare what I need to the night before and throw it all in the crockpot before I leave for work in the morning.  By the time I get home, there is a delicious ready-made meal awaiting my arrival.

Today I can smell the savory aroma of a lesser-known winter favorite- Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup.  Last night, I chopped up a bag of carrots and an onion and threw them in a container in the fridge.  I bought beef chuck that was on sale, and it was already cubed so that was one less worry.  The rest was cake.  Or should I say beef?

I threw the following ingredients in my crockpot this morning:

•  2 lbs. beef chuck, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion- chopped (Prepared the night before) 
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic (I used the stuff out of a jar.) 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 medium carrots, chopped (I simply chopped up a bag of those mini carrots.) 
• 1 cup of uncooked pearl barley 
• 1 small bag of frozen peas
• 1small bag of frozen green beans
• 1 can of corn (You could also use frozen.  This is just what I had at home.) 
• 2 cartons of (32 ounces) beef flavored broth. 

Set the crockpot to low and then cook 6-8 hours.  Dinner is ready to go, and I will enjoy some soup for lunch over the next couple of days as well!  Now I just have to wait until I get home from Yoga to actually enjoy it....