Basic Ingredients:
1/3 cup Pearl Barley
3 Beef Bouillon Cubes
2 tsp Basil
1 Bay Leaf
14 Whole Peppercorns (you can grind up peppercorns or just use regular pepper too - mainly for taste)
1 lb Lean Ground Beef (I use the 80/20 and it comes out fine)
5 Cups Water
16oz Tomatoes (cut up) (I use 1 can of the Del Monte Diced Tomates with Green Pepper & Onion or other version) don't drain
2 Med Chopped Onion (I only use about 1/2 a medium onion)
4 Med Carrots (sliced) (you can throw in some of those baby peeld carrots chopped up instead)
4 Celery Stalks (sliced) (again, I only use one or two large stalks sliced in half and then chopped so they cook through better)
1/4 Cup Ketsup (or a tad more if you like it real tomatoey)
Directions:
Brown Beef (drain off fat); add water and rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for approximately one hour.
Is this simple or what
I'm sure you could do this in the crock, but I couldn't tell you how long you'd need to cook it for on low or high settings. sorry.
Very good for the tum tum tummy on cold nights. Even better as a leftover meal.
Enjoy.
