Recipe Time: Beef Barley Stew

So in a previous post talking about my 2015 goals, I said I wanted to try some new recipes out of my comfort zone. While this week's recipe was nothing out of my comfort zone, it was something different! Whenever we buy a roast, I tend to make the same exact stew every time.

Beef roasts were on mad sale last weekend at my market, so I "indulged". (We don't eat a lot of red meat, so getting a roast is a rare thing!)

I used my bread oven to make some home-made bread and spent my morning preparing all the good, delicious ingredients for this stew!

Let me tell you, it is amazing. Hearty, healthy, soul-warming, good stuff! And it makes your house smell like heaven.

Or at least what I think heaven might smell like?! Fresh baked bread and beef stew? ;)

Here it is:
-4 lb beef roast, cubed
-1 cup barley
-3 potatoes, cubed
-about 10 baby carrots, halved
-1/2 onion, sliced
-5 cloves garlic
-1/2 cup tomato paste
-red wine (about 1/2 cup? I just pour until the meat looks colorful and happy)
-4 cups beef broth
-1 tsp oregano
-1 tsp basil
-1 tsp parsley
-1/2 tsp thyme
-salt and pepper to taste1

1. Brown the beef is a pan with olive oil, wine, (And I added a little balsamic vinegar. Because that's just what I like to do.)
2. Place all vegetables in crockpot, add the meat, tomato paste, broth, and spices.
3. Cook at about 250 degrees for 4+ hours.
4. For the last hour, add in the barley.
5. Pour glass of wine for the cook. (Very important step)

**One thing to note. The stew was looking quite watery, so I was tempted to add flour or cornstarch to thicken it up. However, once the barley is added, it will thicken right up!

 

This made a ton of left overs (since it's just the 2 of us). Which is awesome, because I pre-packaged many containers and even froze a few!