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Originally Posted by Erin  Does anyone have recipes that don't involve canned or powdered soup? I can't eat those, so I find that I use the crock pot less that I otherwise would. When I do, I use chicken or pot roast with onions, potatoes, carrots and boxed stock, but it does not thicken so I end up needing to thicken the sauce on the stove to make a gravy. That defeats the purpose of coming home to food!!!  |
I don't like using canned soups either....I've been dying to make this soup, I plan on doing it in a couple of days and when I do I think I'll double it...If I'm going to go through the trouble of making something I like to have leftovers....Sometimes the leftovers are better.lol......You could try sprinkling in some instant mashed potato flakes to thicken the roast juices.....That's one thing that's different with a slow cooker the liquid doesn't evaporate like in an oven so sometimes we need to use less at the start....(I just copied this from my recipes I have on line, I have notes to myself so ignore those.lol).....
Slow Cooker Beef w/ Barley Soup
2 lbs. beef chuck roast , cut into ½ in. pieces
salt & pepper
veg oil.
2 onions, chopped, about ½ in pieces
2 carrots, sliced into ¼ in. pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ c. dry red wine, see note
1 (28 oz.) can diced stewed tomatoes
4 c. beef broth, low sodium ( preferred in box than a can)
4 c. chicken broth, ( preferred in box rather than a can)
1 tsp. dried thyme
2/3 c. pearl barley
¼ c. fresh parsley, minced
In a skillet with oil over med. high heat, salt and pepper the beef and brown well, do in two batches. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add a couple teaspoons of oil to the skillet, add the onions and carrots. Cook til softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir for about 30 seconds. Remove the skillet to the pan and add the wine, place back over medium low heat and simmer til reduced by about half, about 1 minute. Pour into slow cooker. Add the tomatoes with the juice, broths, thyme and the barley to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or 4-5 hours on high. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parsley. Serves 6-8
Note: The best wine to use for cooking is a Cotes du Rhone or a Pinot Noir. Three brands that are good and inexpensive are:
BonnyDoon Ca?del Solo
Rose Mount Estate Grenache/ Shiraz
E.Guigal Cotes du Rhone
Don’t use “cooking wine” in the grocery store it’s to salty, if you can’t drink it don’t cook with it…..