Guess What! Its Soup Again!

I realized that many of my last blog entries have been soup recipes. What can I say? I love soup and the weather has been cold and rainy for the last month or so. I finally tried a recipe last night that I have had on my list for awhile, Elly's Beef Barley Mushroom Soup. I love Elly's blog, http://ellysaysopa.vox.com/library/posts/page/1/. Everything always looks so good. This recipe was definitely a hit at our house. My husband declared it restaurant quality. It was a nice cross between the flavor of french onion soup and a beef burgandy. Great winter meal. I can't wait to try more of Elly's recipes.

Beef Barley Mushroom Soup
Source: Ellysaysopa.vox.com

Beef Mushroom Barley Soup

1 lb. beef, cut into bite sized pieces (I typically use stew meat or top round, as lean as possible)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup water
1 cup red wine

2 tbsp butter
1 small-medium onion, diced
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups beef broth
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

1/2 cup barley
8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add meat and brown.

Pour in water and red wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while you are cutting up the vegetables or longer (usually, I let it simmer about an hour).

Remove beef and cut into small bite sized chunks or shred if desired. Skim fat and reserve 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

In a large stockpot, melt butter. Add celery, carrots, onion, and saute until tender. Stir in garlic until fragrant.

Pour in beef broth and add thyme, basil, bay leaf, beef, and reserved cooking liquid. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Season to taste.

Add barley and mushrooms and simmer until done, about 40 minutes.