Beef & Barley Soup . . . a slow cooker meal!

There’s nothing better than a robust bowl of steaming soup on a cold winter day, chock full of veggies, tender beef, slightly thickened with barley and slow simmered until the flavors meld perfectly . . . unless it is delivered to the door by a friend! Thank you Betty Krenger for this DELICIOUS soup and for sharing the recipe. I will be making it in the near future.

Betty says there are only 168 calories per serving. She made it with beef but mentioned it is also good with chicken.

Beef & Barley Soup  About 8 servings

12 oz. beef stew meat

4 (14.5 oz.) cans beef broth (Betty used half chicken & half beef)

1 (14.5 oz.) canned diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup diced onion

1 cup potato, cut in small pieces

1 cup frozen peas & carrots

½ cup chopped celery

⅔ cup regular (pearl) barley

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon basil, crushed

¼ teaspoon pepper

Cut meat into 1-inch pieces, add rest of ingredients to a slow cooker. Cook 5 to 6 hours on high.