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Okay finally came across one of my fav cold weather soups a guy from work bestowed upon me many moons ago. Hope you like it as much as we do. It's very flexible with what you can add but here is the basic

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.

Hey Donna, I make a form of this too and call it Hamburger Stew. I use diced potatoes, lots of chopped onion, carrots, corn, peas and small noodles too. Have been known to use spaghetti, broken up in small pieces if I didn't have the noodles to use. Throw in a small package of instant mashed potatoes to thicken it a little. YUM YUM
And yep, have planned on making up a batch in the crock-pot this coming week after we get groceries again.

Mine is all done and ready to be eaten right now. Just waiting on DH to come home. I may try some your your variations. Sounds scrumptious