Cooking
almost every meal we eat, is my usual kitchen style. Often requiring a bit of
creative license to use what we have on hand in the pantry. When eating dinner,
my husband will often turn to me and say, "are you going to blog this?”
That is how a dinner idea came to be...not always a
recipe, but too good, not to share.
Today we have Beef and Carrot Stew with Barley.
A one dish dinner is often what I make when we have been busy outside, and around here, that is pretty much everyday! Plus with cooked grains in the freezer and ready to go, when I pull meat out for dinner, I can grab a bag of grains at the same time. While this version calls for barley, feel free to add brown rice if that is more to your liking. But I do urge you to try barley, it is one of those old fashioned foods that is not only delicious, but good for us in many ways, as well.
This is a small batch recipe, but very easy to double or triple.
I have said it before, and I will say it again. Scaling down when the number of folks around the table shrinks, is so much harder than scaling up, when the family is growing! But now it has been a few years of cooking less food at mealtimes. And I do believe I am getting better at it! Part of that is preparation, like cooked grains in the freezer, packaged up and ready to go. The other part is having a mind set that shops with small batch cooking in mind, stores the food accordingly and then allows a little creative license for flavor.
But a well stocked pantry is just as important for small batch cooking,
as it is cooking for a large family! When I look around at all the cooking I do, over half is preparation alone. We keep several homemade pantry mixes on hand for convenience, cooked grains in the freezer, as well as granola and other ready to eat snacks available. Keeping up on those keeps me fairly busy, then there is the garden and the chickens. After that I can get around to recipe developments, and when I do, and if it is blog worthy, I will then share it here! So when you do not see a new recipe, now you know why!
Some additional thoughts on this recipe:
You may certainly add cooked brown rice if desired.
I do brown the beef in a small knob of butter to get a brown crust on the meat for added flavor.
However for those that prefer, you may use the sauté button on your IP.
Beef broth is delicious, for Low Histamine cooking, I do use water.
This recipe as written serves 2, double or triple as needed for your family.
Let's make Beef and Carrot Stew with Barley shall we? And as a last thought, don't let the term stew throw you. When used as a verb to "stew" also means to cook until tender!
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
- beef stew meat
- butter or oil
- carrots
- onion
- celery
- garlic salt
- marjoram
- ground bay leaves
- salt and pepper
- water or beef broth
- cooked barley
You will also need the following:
- cutting board
- kitchen knife
- Instant Pot or stovetop model
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- skillet
Now we are ready to begin!
Beef and Carrot Stew with Barley
by the seat of my pants!
8oz beef stew meat
1 t butter
1 small onion
2 ribs celery
4 medium carrots
1/2 t marjoram leaves
1/4 t ground bay leaves, our recipe here.
OR
1 large bay leaf
Garlic Salt to taste, our recipe here.
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 c water or beef broth
1 c cooked barley
Melt the butter in the skillet, when sizzling, add the beef cubes. Brown well over medium high heat. Season with the Marjoram, Ground Bay Leaves along with Garlic Salt and fresh ground pepper.
While the beef is browning, dice the onion and toss into the IP. Wash dry and slice the celery and add to the IP pot. Wash the carrots, peel if desire and cut into 1 inch chunks. set carrots aside, until needed.
Add the browned beef along with any drippings to the IP, add the water or broth. Attach the lid, close the valve. Set timer for 20 minutes to cook. When the cooking time is finished, let sit NPR for 5 minutes. Release the pressure.
Open the lid, add the carrots, replace the lid and set time for 10 minutes. When finished, again, let sit NPR before releasing the pressure. Immediately stir in the cooked barley. Let sit 1 minute for the barley to get hot, and serve.
Storage options for Beef and Carrot Stew with Barley. Since this is a small batch recipe we never have leftovers! But if you do, store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave before serving. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
UPDATE:
For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Beef and Carrot Stew with Barley has
been included below.
You may also enjoy:
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Printable "copy and paste" version:
Beef and Carrot Stew with Barley
by the seat of my pants!
8oz beef stew meat
1 t butter
1 small onion
2 ribs celery
4 medium carrots
1/2 t marjoram leaves
1/4 t ground bay leaves, our recipe here.
OR
1 large bay leaf
Garlic Salt to taste, our recipe here.
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 c water or beef broth
1 c cooked barley
Melt the butter in the skillet, when sizzling, add the beef cubes. Brown well over medium high heat. Season with the Marjoram, Ground Bay Leaves along with Garlic Salt and fresh ground pepper.
While the beef is browning, dice the onion and toss into the IP. Wash dry and slice the celery and add to the IP pot. Wash the carrots, peel if desire and cut into 1 inch chunks. set carrots aside, until needed.
Add the browned beef along with any drippings to the IP, add the water or broth. Attach the lid, close the valve. Set timer for 20 minutes to cook. When the cooking time is finished, let sit NPR for 5 minutes. Release the pressure.
Open the lid, add the carrots, replace the lid and set time for 10 minutes. When finished, again, let sit NPR before releasing the pressure. Immediately stir in the cooked barley. Let sit 1 minute for the barley to get hot, and serve.
Storage options for Beef and Carrot Stew with Barley. Since this is a small batch recipe we never have leftovers! But if you do, store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave before serving. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
~~~
