Vegetable Beef with Barley Soup

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.  ~Voltaire

This is probably one of my all-time favorite soups.  Simple to prepare; satisfying and delicious to eat...

Vegetable  Beef with Barley Soup

 Ingredients:

1/2 pound beef stew meat, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup of pearl barley, dry
6 cups of water
1 (14 oz) can of  fire roasted  diced tomatoes with garlic
1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste


Fill a large pot with water. Salt the beef and  add the beef, parsley and onions to the pot of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the meat is tender.  Add the tomatoes, 2 cups of water and the barley.  Simmer an additional 30 minutes or until the barley is cooked through.  Add the vegetables and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Alternately, all the ingredients except the vegetables can be put in a crock pot and cooked all day.  The soup can be finished  by adding the vegetables and cooking to desired tenderness.