Hearty Stew Meat Barley Soup

This is what we had for dinner last night. I love this savory soup with soft barley and vegetables. And even my husband, who is not wild about barley, doesn't mind it too much. ; ) The bread in the picture was from a loaf of Cracked Pepper Parmesan bread that Great Harvest brought to my husband's work and that he brought home! It was so yummy. I think I'm going to have to try it myself one of these days when the urge to make some kind of exotic bread comes over me.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the soup recipe with you today.

Hearty Stew Meat Barley Soup

Brown:
1 1/2 pounds stew meat chunks in
1 tablespoon of oil

(or brown the stew meat in a non-stick pan with no oil.)

Meanwhile, put the following into your crock pot:
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 onion, peeled, with ends cut off
1 half bell pepper, cut into fourths
1 cup water
4 cups of broth
2/3 cup pearl barley
1/2 tablespoon salt (I used salt-free tomatoes and broth, so if you use them with salt, you will want to decrease the amount).
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon basil

Add the meat and cook on high for 4 1/2 to 5 hours. If you put the water and broth in hot, you can shorten the amount of time needed for it to cook.

Fish out the onion, bell pepper pieces, and bay leaf. Serve and enjoy!