Italian Beef and Barley Soup

by "Recipes to Share - Slow Cooker"

Makes 6 servings

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 8-10 hours

Ingredients:

1 boneless beef top sirloin steak (about 1.5 lbs)

1 tbs vegetable oil

4 medium carrots or parsnips, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 cup chopped onion

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup uncooked pearl barley

2 cans (about 14 oz each) beef broth

1 can (about 14 oz) diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Cut beef into 1-inch pieces. Heat oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Brown beef on all sides; set aside.

2. Place carrots and onion in slow cooker; sprinkle with thyme, rosemary and pepper. Top with barley and beef. Pour broth and tomatoes over beef.

3. Cover; cook on LOW 8-10 hours or until beef is tender.

Tip: Choose pearl barley rather than quick-cooking barley, because it will stand up to longer cooking.

Thai Vegetable Stew

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbs canola oil

1 red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small yellow onion cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 tbs each minced garlic and minced ginger

2 tbs Thai green curry paste, or more to taste

1 (14-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk

2 tbs Thai fish sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

1 cup cubed peeled potatoes (1/2-inch cubes)

1 cup peeled, thinly sliced carrots

2 zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

1 cup snow peas

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion; saute 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Add garlic, ginger and curry paste; cook 1 minutes, stirring constantly.

2. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar and 2 cups water to pot; bring to a simmer.

3. Add potatoes and carrots; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until vegetables just begin to soften, 5-8 minutes.

4. Add zucchini and snow peas; simmer 8 minutes. If the stew is too thick, add water to thin slightly. Stir in lime juice and sprinkle with basil. Serve hot over jasmine rice.

Per serving:

240 cal

17g fat

18 g carbs

3g protein

2

Canja - Chicken Soup

1 fat chicken, cut up
2 tbs cooking oil
1 onion sliced
2 tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sweet basil
5 sprigs of cilantro
1 green onion
1 c rice
Cooked ham

1. Fry the chicken in hot cooking oil. Add sliced onion. Cover with water, add other listed ingredients, except the rice and the ham. Let cook until the chicken is tender.
2. Remove the chicken from the bones and skin and strain the broth. There should be about 3 quarts of broth. If necessary, add water to make that amount. Cut chicken meat into small pieces. Return the broth to the stove and add 1 c rice to the broth and cook until the rice is nearly tender. Add the cut up chicken and ½ c cooked ham cut into small pieces. Continue cooking until the rice looses its shape. Serve very hot.