BEEF BARLEY SOUP

During the winter months I make soup at least once a week. Our favorite soups are those that can do double-duty as an entree. This hearty soup is all that and more. The recipe is from my new Cooking Light Easy Winter Recipes magazine/cookbook. At $12 I wasn't sure it would live up to my expectations, but happily it has.

Yields 4 (two cup) servings
cooking spray
3/4 lb boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 (8 oz) pkg. sliced mushrooms
4 cups fat free, lower sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
2/3 cup uncooked pearl barley
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan and cook for 4 minutes or until nicely browned on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add carrot, celery, onion, and mushrooms to pan and cook 6 minutes or until liquid is almost evaporated. Add beef, broth, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in pearl barley, cover, and simmer 30 minutes more, until pearl barley is tender. Stir in salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Serve immediately or add more beef broth when you serve.
N.I.: 341 cal; 11.4 g fat; 24.1 g protein; 36.2 g carb; 8.2 g fiber; 837 g sodium
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TASTE NOTES
The very generous portion of soup was greatly appreciated because it was simply wonderful! The pearl barley soaked up all the flavors of the broth and beef. The vegetables provided a delicate sweetness. A few slices of a good semolina loaf grilled in my panini press made this the perfect cold weather dinner. I could easily have made it again the following week if I hadn't had a few bags of beans in the pantry.