Beef Barley Soup

I'm sitting here typing this up as I dutifully watch my pressure canner to ensure that it stays at 11 pounds of pressure~ no more, no less. It seems that I have it on my stove all the time right now so I can can up the leftovers from a meal, make a pot of chili to put up, or like today- can up a batch of soup.

Last night we had a really good crockpot pot roast for dinner so today I make a 3 gallon batch of soup from the leftovers. Some will be our dinner and the 7 quarts that I am canning up will be our dinner some other night :) It's like the ultimate fast food!

I know some people are intimidated by soup, but you shouldn't be. Soups are simple, hearty and cheap to fix.
 
Here's the recipe I made today:

Beef and Barley Soup

4 cups (or more) leftover roast
1/2 cup pearled barley
3 carrots
3 ribs of celery
1 cup green beans
1 cup peas
1 onion, chopped
4 cups beef stock (from the store or your own, either way)
1/4 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (28 oz) can tomato puree

Chop veggies and meat into bite sized pieces. Heat stock in a large pot and add the veggies, meat and seasonings. Cook until veggies are almost cooked through. Add barley and cook until it's tender. Taste broth and adjust seasonings. We like to have this with some fresh bread or dinner rolls.

If you double or triple this recipe you will have enough to freeze or can. One of the easiest ways to stretch your money is to not increase the meat, but increase the veggies and barley instead. You could also add some corn and/or potatoes as well.

This is a very simple, very tasty, very economical meal. Just the kind we like :)