Beef and Barley Stew

  This is the easiest homemade stew you can make!  It takes time (cooking time is about 2 hours, prep time is only 15 minutes) but it’s a one pot meal that simply involves chopping the ingredients and tossing them into the pot.  What could be simpler?

 I don’t eat red meat anymore but I made the exception for this favourite recipe that I’ve had for a long time.  This is an amalgamation of many recipes I’ve experimented with over the years and finally settled on this winning combination of ingredients.

I used organic stewing beef (twice the price of regular – yikes!) and organic barley (low gluten).  I’m not kidding when I say all you do is chop and toss so this is a perfect meal for a Saturday or Sunday when you’re doing other things around the house and you can keep an eye on this while it cooks.

Some would call this a soup but it gets very thick as it cooks and the next day it’s even thicker.  Don’t be afraid to add a little water if it’s too thick for you.  Most importantly, don’t scrimp on the cooking time.  The flavour development process definitely needs the time allotted in the recipe.  It freezes well too.

I do hope you’ll try this one, it’s definitely a keeper!  Have a great day, everyone.