Beef and Barley Stew

1/2 lb beef, cubed and trimmed of fat
1 small onion finely diced
1 T olive oil
2 medium-small potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 c barley
1/2 c chopped carrots
1/2 c chopped celery
4 c beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 dried chili pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a 3 quart saucepan, saute onions and beef in olive oil. Add broth, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and chili pepper. Simmer for 1 hour. Add barley and potatoes, simmer an additional 15 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. Total cooking time is about 2 hours. Thicken with a roux if desired - this will change the nutrition information.

This may be done in a crockpot; in that case, hold the chili pepper until the last hour of cooking or the stew will be too spicy.

Makes six servings.



Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user MTFBWY.