Beef Barley Soup

 Let's get back to basics.  Let's make a hearty beef barley soup.

 The hardest part of this recipe is finding the Beef Shin Meat-in Bone. 

 It looks like this and not many stores carry this cut of Beef, but you can ask for it.  It was the cut that my mother would make soup from, and it has the valuable marrow still in the shin bone.  Anybody worried about Osteoporosis should consider this age old recipe to reinforce your bones.

 I also added some extra pieces of beef to the boiling water to add substance to the soup.

 Fill up a large stainless steel pot 2/3 of the way with water.  Here at the Jarvis House we are fortunate to have really high quality public water.

 Add the shin bones,

 then add the extra beef pieces to boil in the water.

Usually I leave the pot boiling until the meat falls off the shin bone.

 Add pepper, salt, beef bouillon, dry mustard and Pearled Barley.

 Barley can be found in the rice aisle.

 Add chopped carrots, onion, celery, potatoes, corn, and parsley, after you strain the meat from the broth.

 Chop the shin meat into small pieces and discard any grizzle.

 Chop the extra beef pieces, and add to the strained broth.

Add the parsley and other vegetables.

 Season with dry mustard

 black pepper, salt

 and I usually add a few cubes of beef bullion too.

 Add about a cup of barley.

 Barley takes a while to cook so be patient.

 Add diced potato too.

 Beef Barley soup in the cooking pot.

 Ready to eat on a cold day.

 I make a large pot of soup so that I can divide it up in freezer containers for future meals.

Sunday Roast on a Snowy Day in January

What do you do when it is a snowy Sunday?

 

 

You get out a really nice piece of beef called an Eye Round and cook it in a Crock Pot!  First you brown all sides  in olive oil in a typical stainless pot.

Turn the roast with a cooking fork to brown all sides.  This cut of meat is bullet shaped so the fork makes the browning easier.

When all sides are browned and the meat's juices locked in the roast remove from the cooking pot and place on a platter.

Take out the Crock Pot.

 Take out a jar of red sauce and prepare a cup of coarsely chopped onions.

With the leftover olive oil in the cooking pot, brown the chopped onions.

 Here's a little tip for saving time and money.  When onions and celery are on sale, or you have chopped too much to use for a recipe, place each in their own bag and freeze.  Amounts of onions and celery can then be added to  soups or casseroles.

 Brown the onions.

 Add to the Crock Pot.

 Add the browned roast .

Add a jar of prepared tomato sauce to the Crock pot.

 I prefer Tomato Basil sauce.

 Add a cup of tap water to the empty sauce jar and swirl.

 Add the watery sauce to the Crock pot.

 Add salt and pepper to taste.

 Chop off the ends of fresh green beans.

 Place in a vegetable steamer.

 The Eye Round roast cooks on the high setting in the Crock pot for most of the day.

Slice and place on a serving platter

 When the beans have steamed for a few minutes serve with mashed potatoes.

 Use some of the red sauce as the gravy.

Perfect dinner when it is snowy.