Beef Barley and Vegetable Soup

Happy Friday and Halloween!

Since Mother Nature decided this would be the nastiest day of the year, thus far, 

I thought maybe I would try to counteract her elements outdoors

 with something warm and cozy indoors.

This hearty, comforting Beef Barley and Vegetable Soup started with

2.5# of ground beef browning in the stock pot. 

Added to that was 1 tbsp of seasoning salt

1 small chopped onion and

1 tbsp minced garlic

all cooked until there is no more pink left in the beef. 

While that was browning, chop up some veggies…

3 carrots and 3 stalks of celery were prepped for their turn to join the pot.  

Toss 'em in!

Next add 4 cups of beef broth and 

6 cups of water for the barley to soak up. 

As well as 1 can of diced tomatoes…sadly tomato season is done around here, 

Once all of the liquid is added, seems like all of the pictures look the same. 

Then, pour 1 cup of barley  into the pot and simmer for an hour.  

If you need to, you can throw this together much quicker.  

As there is also quick cooking barley, which is just as good!

I always have both on hand and choose according to how much time I have. 

Many nights I prep dinner before the kids get home, 

so letting it simmer for an hour is perfect. 

The final additions to the soup are the extra veggies that I have in my fridge waiting to be used up. 

Tonight was spinach and coleslaw.  

Those are two veggies that can be added to many dishes without much notice. 

Frozen mixed veggies would also be a great way to round out this meal.

Of course, my family loves to top their soup with cheese, 

so shredded mozzarella was the choice tonight.

I love how this soup continues to thicken as the barley cooks!  

Beef Barley and Vegetable soup has always been one of my favorites!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

2.5# of ground beef

1 tbsp of seasoning salt

1 onion - chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic

3 carrots - chopped

3 stalks of celery - chopped

4 cups of beef broth

6 cups of water

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of barley (quick cooking barley will significantly reduce the cooking time)

2 cups of fresh spinach

1 cup of shredded cabbage

Shredded mozzarella 

Directions:

• Brown the beef in the stock pot over medium heat, along with the salt, onion and garlic. 
• Next in goes the veggies and liquids, order is not really important…as long as the carrots, celery, broth, water and tomatoes make it into the pot, along with the barley. 
• Simmer for nearly an hour until the barley is tender. 
• Finally added the quick cooking veggies, like spinach and cabbage, or frozen mixed veggies until they are warm. 
• Serve and top with mozzarella or the cheese of your choice. 

Clean-out-your-fridge Pasta sauce with Spaghetti

Not sure how meal planning goes in your house, oh, it doesn't...well, hopefully this give you some guidance.  

Usually on Sunday nights we go around the table and everyone gets a chance to throw out a meal suggestion or request for the following week, then I plan the meals according to what is going on each night (for example tonight is a Crock Pot Chicken and Barley Vegetable Stew from Iowa Girl Eats so there is something ready, warm and nutritious to devour between swim lessons and my early volleyball game). Tomorrow night is swim, 3 parent teacher conferences and piano...not sure I'm going to win the homemade healthy meal battle tomorrow night.  Sometimes you just have to willing to throw up the white flag in surrender. I digress. 

Landon, being the youngest and having the least complex taste buds, asked for spaghetti.  That is completely understandable for an 8 year old boy who would rather just eat hot dogs everyday, but It sure bursts my creative juices bubble...what am I supposed to do with that?!?!?

After mulling it over a bit, I decided it would be a great opportunity to use up some of the leftover ingredients in the fridge from the weekend...now we're talking, since I HATE throwing anything away.  

So, upon a quick glance through my fridge, I decide that the sauce will start with some red bell peppers, pizza sauce, marinara and sausage all left from the pizzas on Saturday night and then might as well throw in the shredded carrots for good measure.  

This just goes to show that you can put just about anything into certain dishes. In fact, Jerry asked me if I used up the open jar of salsa from the fridge, I hadn't, but he's catching on quickly! 

Round out the sauce with one fresh tomato, green peppers, zucchini, onion, garlic, let them cook down a bit before adding the first can of diced tomatoes as well as some Italian seasoning.  The sauce started with just one can of diced tomatoes but a second was added after the initial simmering had taken place and it just wasn't saucy enough.  

Now, I realize that is a lot of veggies but even if we let the kids pick out one that they don't like, they are still getting a decent serving of veggies in the meal.  I throw veggies into every dish I make and sometimes they don't even notice or maybe they have just resorted the fact that the veggies are going to be there and just stop fighting it.

That simmered away until the family was home and ready to partake.  

Now, onto the pasta...I'm not a huge pasta fan...there I said it!  I'd rather save my carbs to accompany cheese, hummus, guacamole or even ketchup, not as a main component of my meal.  But, I insist on the kids eating what I like most of the time, so I can suck it up on occasion and eat their meal of choice. 

Despite having a lifetime supply of pasta that I bought at a club store some time in the last decade, I decided I wanted to go with the healthier whole grain pasta for Jerry and I, at the very least; another attempt to bring some nutrition to the table.  (Now that I think about it, last time I made a similar meal, Jerry and I were served spaghetti squash...not sure he was too thrilled with that).

So, I got two large pots of salt water boiling to make the respective pastas.  (Because of the way the salt bonds to the water molecules, the water has to reach a higher temperature before boiling, helping the pasta to cook faster...in case anyone is interested in any of the scientific principles behind all of this good stuff.)

Before straining the noodles, I used a ladle to reserve about a cup of the pasta water to pour back into the noodles.  As the pasta cools, the starches continue to absorb water, so saving pasta water to add back helps to keep the spaghetti from sticking together too badly.  Once that was absorbed, I tossed with some olive oil before serving.  

As it turns out, the Clean-Out-Your-Fridge Pasta Sauce was a big hit with the family as was the whole grain pasta...I think that will be a new staple in our house as we move towards healthier grains and away from white bread and rice, now we can add pasta to the category as well.  

What are some ways you like to use up ingredients in your fridge?  How about sneak some extra vegetables into your kids meals?  I know there are some pretty clever people out there reading this and I'd love to hear what your thoughts. 

Marinated steak rolls with sautéed veggies

Steak hasn't always been a staple in my repertoire, 

but ever since my husband got his first deer last November, 

our freezer has been stuffed with this lean, 

tender meat and I have had a great time trying out different steak recipes.

The whole family has embraced the venison and 

I'm pleased with the meals that have come together over the last few months.  

Lots of soups, even a risotto, 

last night was a crowd-pleaser for the hearty appetite of the men in my family.

So, starting with some venison strip steaks, 

probably a little thicker than the usually prescribed flank steaks, 

but I'm crazy like that...always willing to change things up, improvise and go with what I've got.

It is worth noting that it is uber important for venison or any wild game to be cooked thoroughly.  So please keep that in mind!  

The marinade was a simple sprinkling of salt and pepper,

followed by a 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 

that had an hour or so to hang out and get acquainted with one another. 

While the marinade was doing it's thing, 

I took an inventory of the veggies in the fridge and started chopping. 

A few stalks of celery, 

red and green bell peppers, shredded carrots (will work in a pinch) and 

green onions, cut the long way, 

will make for the perfect combination of flavors and textures inside this steak roll.  

Chopping is very therapeutic for me…

few thing are more relaxing for me than a knife, cutting board and some fresh produce 

(accompanied by a glass of a red never hurts either!)

This bottle was a recent find as I seek out the best values in wine.

 It was full-bodied yet smooth, great pair for the venison as well as the prep. 

Before sautéing the veggies, I started the balsamic glaze reduction.  

Reductions have always been a little intimidating for me and 

easily the first thing I would skip if time were tight.  

However, they are almost always worth the time and 

not nearly as much hassle as they may seem at first. 

Start with melting 2 tbsp of butter in a sauté pan, 

then add 1 chopped shallot, which I actually had on hand, 

otherwise, I'd use some onions, just the same.  

Once the shallots were cooked, I added a half cup of balsamic vinegar and a half cup of beef broth (if I don't have broth on hand, I just use a bouillon cube to achieve a similar effect). 

After the glaze had reduced down and thickened to a syrup consistency, 

I poured it into the measuring cup for use later. 

I tossed all of the chopped veggies into the same pan with some hot oil 

to soften a bit prior to rolling into the steaks.  

The next time I make this, 

I would not sauté the green onions, 

the texture of the raw green onion would have been a nice touch in the finished dish.

  

Finally, the veggies were laid in the middle of the steaks and the meat was rolled up around it,

 being secured by a toothpick before going into the pan for some heat of its own.  

Once there was some nice crust formed on both sides of the steaks, 

I put a cover on the pan to help cook the meat thoroughly.  

Pour the glaze and serve…

many thumbs ups, kudos and even knucks were awarded over the delight of this meal. 

Hope your family enjoys as well!

RECIPE:

Marinade Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

4 venison strip steaks

salt and pepper - to taste

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 stalks celery

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

Carrots

Green onions

2 tbsp butter

1 shallot - minced

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar 

1/2 cup of beef broth

Directions:

Marinade steaks with salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce, allow to sit for 1 hour. 

Chop up veggies into strips for stuffing .

Make reduction by melting butter and sautéing shallots. 

Then add vinegar and broth, simmer until thickened and set aside. 

Lightly sautee the veggies, excluding the green onion. 

Place all of the veggies on the marinated steaks and roll up, securing with toothpick. 

Start cooking the steak rolls over medium-high heat to sear the meat and form a crust, cook each side for 4-6 minutes. 

Then, reduce the heat, cover and allow the steaks to cook thoroughly, turning as necessary. 

Finally, top with the balsamic reduction and serve.