Hey y'all! While I am spending some time with my family after the loss of my father, I have lined up a few guest posts from some of my most favorite people. I am a sucker for any kind of soup and this Beef and Barley Soup from my friend Ashley is just the ticket. Please give her a warm welcome. Take it away Ashley.....
Hey, everybody! My name is Ashley, and I blog at TheHillHangout.com. The Hill Hangout is a family and lifestyle blog where we talk about food, faith, family, style, and travel. I am super excited to be with you all today, as Melissa at Served Up With Love is one of my favorite fellow food bloggers. I live in Alabama, and the weather has just turned cold enough for soup. We are pretty excited about that because any kind of soup is a favorite around The Hill Hangout. This afternoon I made a big pot of Beef and Barley Soup that I thought you might like.
Beef and Barley Soup is what I refer to as a rainy day soup, because it takes a little time to make. It just so happens that today is a lazy, rainy day that we've spent watching football and working on projects around the house. In other words, it's the perfect day for Beef and Barley Soup!
If you've spent any time around TheHillHangout.com, you know that I like to make things as simple as possible. For me, that means when I make a roast, brisket, flank steak, London broil, or any other kind of beef dish, I make enough to have leftovers. That gives me enough to make a nice pot of soup without too much extra cooking. However, no worries if you don't have extra beef in your fridge. You can make Beef and Barley Soup totally from scratch as well.
2-3 lb beef roast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced carrots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2/3 cup diced celery
1 medium onion, diced
1 8oz package sliced mushrooms
1 32oz carton beef stock
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup pearled barley
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Sear the beef roast on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove to plate.
Saute carrots, garlic, celery, onion, and mushrooms in pot for about 5-7 minutes.
Cut beef roast into 1" pieces and add to veggies.
Pour in beef stock and add bay leaves and parsley. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium, and let cook for an hour uncovered. Stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick. Add water as necessary.
Add in pearled barley, wine, salt and pepper, and stir well.
Let cook for another hour, stirring frequently so that it doesn't stick. The barley will soak up some of the water, so add more as necessary.
Serve up with love!
Thanks so much Ashley for sharing such a delicious soup recipe with us today. You have no idea how much my mouth is watering for a taste! Y'all make sure to stop on by The Hill Hangout and grab a bite to eat.
As soon as the weather turns cold, I started making soup. Soup is one of my favorite things to eat and make. I usually make a ton and we eat it for days.
My theory is, if I am going to go through all the trouble of chopping and slaving over it, I won't have to go to a lot of trouble for supper the next few nights. It's really a win-win for me because I love it and it makes my life easy.
Here are a few of our family favorite soup recipes that we enjoy. I make these quite often in the colder months.
The first time I made this Cheesy Taco Soup, we fought over the leftovers. I'm not even kidding! We double and triple this recipe and its always a hit. (and never any left)
Bits of beef, potatoes, celery and carrots make this Crock Pot Beef Stew an easy comfort food favorite.
For years my mom told me about how delicious my Grandma's potato soup recipe was and that she just couldn't make it like her. My mom declared this Crock Pot Potato Soup recipe the closest to her recipe.
Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup is another great recipe with all those favorite Mexican flavors. I like to serve this up with sour cream, cheese, and corn chips on the top. Yum!
Smoky bacon and sweet corn make this Bacon and Corn Chowder a winner. Plus, it has a little spicy kick that will warm your bones on a chilly day.
My Moma's Vegetable "Beef" Soup is comfort food to the max for me. This soup gets made at least once a month during the winter.
Over the years I tried many taco soups and could never find one my family liked. Turns out it was the corn they didn't like in all those recipes. One quick change up and we have a winner with this Crock Pot Taco Soup
That's it folks, all my go-to family favorite soup recipes all in one place. Hope you find a few to enjoy.
I love using my crock pot to make dinner super easy for me. When I was working full time outside the home, I used it as much as I could. Sometimes even preparing everything the night before and placing it in the fridge in the crock to put on in the morning. This was a huge time saver on busy mornings, which honestly they all were. Even though I am not working outside the home anymore I am still super busy and need that helping hand any chance I can get.
The day I made this recipe I had thought it all out and decided to put it all together. Something told me to make sure I had all the ingredients needed but I forged on anyway. Once I placed everything in the crock pot I went to grab the taco seasoning. There was none to be found. How in the world did I run out? I always have this on hand since we eat some kind of taco recipe at least once a week. I kind of panicked a little. There was no way I was heading to the store to just get taco seasoning! So I did the next best thing, I made my own. It worked out really well and no one had a clue it was not the normal taco seasoning I use.
You can customize this recipe to your taste. We do not care for black beans so I always sub them out for another bean. If you would rather have ground beef instead of chicken, change it up. There are no rules here, do what works for your family.
Author: Served Up With Love
Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup
prep time: 5 MINScook time: 6 hourtotal time: 6 hours and 5 mins
Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup is full of so much flavor the family will come running to the table.
Place the chicken breasts in the crock pot (mine were still frozen.) Add all the remaining ingredients and stir. Depending on the size of your crock pot you may need to add just a little more chicken broth or water depending on how thick or thin you want the soup. Cook 6- 8 hours on low. Once done remove the chicken breasts, shred, and return to the pot. Serve with your favorite toppings.
One of our favorite soups to eat when it is cold is my husbands grandmothers chicken and dumplings. This can take several hours for the whole process. I decided to try and make a crock pot version so we could have it on a day we are just a little busier. I am always looking for new crock pot recipes to try and make my life easier at dinner time. The family enjoyed it and I think I will make this again from time to time. It was perfect on this really cold night to warm us up.
Jiffy or Bisquick, make according to directions on package
salt and pepper to taste
chicken broth or bouillon
Place chicken breast into your crock pot. Add chicken broth or bouillon and water (I used 4 boullion cubes) and add celery, carrots, potatoes, and cream of chicken soup. Simmer on low for 6-8 hours. I cooked the chicken breasts whole and took out and shredded and added back into the crock pot. About 30 minutes before done make dumplings and drop by spoonfuls on top and allow to cook until done on high. Spoon into bowls and enjoy!
Cheesy.....Taco.....Soup....need I say more! My family absolutely loves anything that is considered "taco." When I was pregnant with my daughter, I craved any kind of Mexican food. I know this is bad but I visited Taco Bell quite often on my lunch break back then. Thinking back on it now I am surprised I did not get sick of it.
It is no wonder that tacos are one of my daughters favorite things to eat. So you can imagine I try a lot of taco inspired dishes. I have made taco soup before and although I enjoyed it my kids didn't really care for it. I have to admit my son and I actually fought over the last little bowl. So good and so hearty. This soup is one of my favorites!
Taco soup like you have never had it before. Cheesy, meaty, beefy, and of so good and hearty.
ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef 2 Tablespoons butter 2 Tablespoons flour 2-1/2 cups milk, divided salt & pepper to taste 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping 1 package taco seasoning 10 oz can Rotel, undrained 15 oz can of Pinto Beans, drained Crushed tortilla chips for topping
instructions
Brown ground beef in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until no longer pink. Drain and return to pot. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat then whisk in flour and cook for one minute. Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk, season with salt and pepper and stir mixture until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in cheese until smooth. Set aside. Add taco seasoning, rotel, beans, cheese sauce, and remaining 1-1/2 cups milk into cooked ground beef then stir well to combine. Bring to a heavy simmer then turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with crushed tortilla chips and more shredded cheese, if desired.
NOTES:
Add black beans or substitute the pinto beans with any bean you prefer.
This recipe has been in my husband's family for a very long time. I was unsure of where this recipe originated until recently we were told it was his Grandmothers recipe. Ultimate comfort food and we crave this when the weather gets colder. I have changed it up just a bit to make it easier and quicker to make. My mother in law makes hers with a whole chicken and I just use chicken breasts. I have used a whole chicken but to me it is just as good with the chicken breasts. I have to admit that I cannot make dumplings like the hubby. He learned how to do this from his Mom and I just cannot compete with it. I can make them but he just puts that extra whammy in them that takes them over the top.
I know the traditional chicken and dumplings have the dumplings already in the soup. With this recipe the dumplings are made in a separate pot. The dumplings are the star here and honestly we could just eat the dumplings with a little soup poured over them. Oh my!
Jiffy or Bisquick, make according to directions on package
salt and pepper to taste
water or chicken broth or bouillon
Add the chicken breast to water or broth, bring to a boil and add celery, carrots, and onions. Once chicken is done remove and add potatoes. Cook until done, add chopped chicken and cream of chicken soup. Season with salt and pepper and simmer. While simmering add water or broth to a separate pan and drop dumplings by spoonfuls once its boiling. You want this to be a slow boil, once done on one side, flip and continue to cook. Check to make sure done with a fork. We place the dumplings in a dish and once all are done add to bowl of soup. Enjoy!
Moma's Vegetable Soup is pure comfort food. Filled to the brim with vegetables, chunks of beef, and a ton of flavor.
This recipe is one of those recipes that you long to make as soon as the weather turns a little cooler. This will be one of those recipes that is going to be a little hard to get the measurements down since I don't measure anything I put in this. When I make this I usually make a HUGE pot of it and we eat it for days. I have found one of the easiest ways to stretch your food is to make soup. During the winter months I try to make a pot of soup on the weekend and we have it to eat at least a few days into the week. This saves me time while stretching our money. My Mom and Dad have had to change up how they make this soup for many years due to the fact that my Dad all of a sudden became allergic to beef. My mom being the creative woman that she is came up with a solution so we could still have her vegetable soup. She just added ham instead and altered a few ingredients due to the salt content in the ham. This is just as good as with the beef. Recently, my Dad has started buying grass fed beef and is now able to eat beef without any problems. He still eats it in moderation but now he can enjoy all those foods he loved. I know this will be on their menu very soon.
I did not take any during photos of the process just the end result. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to put this into writing of how to make it and share with you. I will try my best and by all means you can scale this back to meet the needs of your family. It is a little bit of prep work but so worth it in the end. When I make this I feel like I am getting a big ole hug from my Mom. Ultimate comfort food! I use a stockpot to make this but you can scale it back and make it in whatever the biggest pot you have on hand. I have two size stockpots right now, one is smaller but I like to go for the big boy on this one. I actually bought it at Goodwill for around $5, it doesn't have a lid but guess what I just make my own, my pizza pan. I am the queen of making due and besides I hated seeing such a nice pot sit on the shelf because it didn't have a lid. It just wanted to make some soup!
I start off by cooking stew beef with onions and salt and pepper until done. If the cubes are a little big I like to cut them up to stretch the meat since I make enough to feed an army. Once that is done I add in about three to four stalks of celery chopped up and add a little water to cover the meat. I let this simmer while I peel and cut the potatoes. This allows all the flavors to meld together. Since I make this in such a huge pot I cut about 5 pounds of potatoes. Next, I add the potatoes to the meat and celery mixture and add water to cover. At this point I start to add the remaining ingredients so everything cooks at the same time. Next add 1 large bottle of V8 vegetable juice and a large bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Now just let this simmer on the stove for a good hour. Test to see if this needs anymore salt and pepper at the end. I know you will probably think I am crazy but somewhere along the line my Mom started serving sausage biscuits with this soup and now we can't have it without them. When my husband had this the first time he looked at us like we were crazy because we were having sausage biscuits with soup. I can tell you he is the first one now to ask where are the sausage biscuits and refuses to eat it without it. Trust me, we never eat this soup without these biscuits. I hope you get to try this soup and I hope these directions are understandable.
Moma's Vegetable Soup
1-2 pounds stew beef, cut into smaller pieces
half an onion, chopped
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large bottle of V8 juice
1-2 large bags of frozen mixed vegetables
5 pound bag of potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
Cook stew beef with onion, once beef is done add celery and water to cover. Simmer while peeling potatoes. Add potatoes and water to cover. Next add a bottle of V8 juice and frozen vegetables. Simmer about an hour or longer until done. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!
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