Nif'S Hearty Healthy Beef Barley Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3/4 lb beef sirloin, trimmed, cubed into bite sized pieces
2 cups carrots, diced
2 cups celery, diced
1 1/2 cups onions, diced
2 cups potatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small shallot, minced (optional)
2 (10 ounce) cans mushrooms, use juice too (if using whole mushrooms, cut in half)
1 3/4 cups pearl barley
12 cups nonfat beef broth (substitute chicken if no beef)
2 bay leaves

Preparation

Spray large pot with extra virgin olive oil spray. Over med-high heat, lightly brown beef and then add veggies, except for mushrooms. Saute for a 3-5 minutes.
Add broth, bay leaf, barley, mushrooms (with juice). Bring to boil.
Lower heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes or until barley and veggies are tender. Remove bay leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.