Tonight's Dinner: Slow cooker beef barley soup

Time to bust out the slow cooker!

The slow cooker is not just for the winter. Who wants to heat up their whole house when it's 100 degrees out? Throw in everything in the morning and enjoy by suppertime!

The beauty of a slow cooker is that you can throw in everything in the morning and by dinnertime it's done. It makes for a quick and easy suppertime that takes no time! This soup is filling and jammed packed with beef and barley. The leftovers can even be frozen!

Slow cooker beef barley soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 pounds stew meat (cut into small pieces)
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 2 medium chopped onions
• 1 chopped green pepper
• 6 chopped carrots
• 14 ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 48 ounces beef stock or broth
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme (leaves pulled off stem)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a large six quart slow cooker, stir and cook on high for 8 to 10 hours.
2. Make sure to stir the soup every couple of hours and to check on the liquid level. If it looks like it's getting low add a little more beef stock or water.

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