Beef Barley Soup

Rich and hearty homestyle Beef Barley Soup! Made with tender chunks of beef roast, nutritious whole grain barley, fresh veggies and a deliciously seasoned broth. A soup that’s sure to warm the soul on chilly days!

Beef Barley Soup

Servings: 7

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chuck roast, trimmed of excess chunks of fat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (about 3)
• 1 cup chopped celery (about 2 ribs)
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 2 (32 oz) cartons low-sodium chicken broth or beef broth
• 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried
• 2 tsp minced fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Dab beef dry and add 1/2 or 1/3 of beef, adding just enough not to overcrowd. Season with salt and pepper. Let sear until golden brown on bottom, about 3 minutes then flip and cook 1 minute longer.

2. Transfer beef in pot to a plate along with juices and repeat process with remaining beef adding in another 1 Tbsp oil to pot.

3. Add 1 Tbsp oil to now empty pot. Add carrots, celery and onion and saute 3 minutes.

4. Add tomato paste and garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

5. Pour in broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Return beef to pot.

6. Bring mixture to a simmer then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until beef is fairly tender, about 45 - 60 minutes.

7. Add barley and simmer until cooked through and beef is tender, about 45 - 60 minutes longer.

8. Stir in parsley. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

How to Make Beef Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker

1. Sear the beef in a pot with olive oil.
2. Transfer beef to a crockpot with the remaining ingredients except parsley.
3. Cook on low 7 - 8 hours then stir in parsley.

How to Make Beef Barley Soup in the Instant Pot

1. Select "saute" setting on pressure cooker. Add oil.
2. Brown beef in 2 - 3 batches. Turn to "off" setting. Return all beef to Instant Pot.
3. Add remaining ingredients (except parsley) also reduce broth to 7 cups (since it doesn't really steam off like other cooking methods). 
4. Cover and set valve to "sealing" position. Select "manual mode" and adjust time to 20 minutes.
5. Once cooking time is up let pressure come down naturally for at least 10 minutes then carefully quick release any remaining pressure.

Read more

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti – classic Italian comfort food made with hearty pasta, flavorful sausage, a homemade marinara and layered with ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese! It’s a lot like lasagna but it’s faster since layers are lazier, but of course it tastes equally as good!

Baked Ziti

Servings: 10

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 3/4 cup chopped yellow onions (1 medium onion)
• 1 lb Mild or Hot Italian Sausage, such as Johnsonville
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 cup slightly packed chopped fresh basil, plus more for topping
• 4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, divided
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 cups (14 oz) shredded mozzarella, divided
• 3/4 cup (1.7 oz) finely shredded parmesan, divided
• 16 oz dry ziti pasta

Instructions

1. Preheat oven and boil water: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (for pasta). 

2. For the sauce: Heat olive oil in a large saute pan (deep skillet), add onions and saute 2 minutes then add sausage and cook, stirring and breaking up sausage occasionally, until cooked through, adding in garlic during last 1 minute, drain excess fat. 

3. Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, 2 Tbsp parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a light boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer 10 minutes then remove from heat. 

4. Too cook pasta: Cook pasta according to package directions about a minute shy of al dente. Drain pasta while reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. 

5. Return pasta to empty pot, immediately add reserved pasta water and 1 cup of the red sauce then toss pasta to coat.

6. For the cheeses: In a mixing bowl using a fork stir together ricotta, egg, 2 Tbsp parsley and season with salt and pepper. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup of the parmesan.

7. To assemble the ziti: Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the red sauce evenly into bottom of dish, then spread 1/2 of the pasta over sauce then dollop spoonfuls of ricotta mixture all over pasta and flatten slightly.

8. Top with remaining pasta. Spoon remaining sauce evenly over pasta layer. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 2 cups of the mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan.

9. To cook the baked ziti: Tent baking dish with foil (don't let it touch the cheese or it will stick) and bake 15 minutes then uncover and bake 10 - 15 minutes longer until cheese is melted throughout. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

• For a more browned topping you can broil during last few minutes of baking (as long as you aren't using a glass baking dish).
• If you'd like a spicy baked ziti then add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes to sauce.

Read more

The Easiest Lasagna Recipe Ever

Easy Lasagna Recipe

 Servings: 7 servings

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 53 minutes

Resting Time 5 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 13 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. 91% lean ground beef*
• 1 (25 oz) jar marinara sauce, preferably Rao's tomato basil**
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 6 uncooked lasagna noodles (not no boil)
• 1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese (whole or part skim)
• 1 (8 oz) pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese***
• 1/2 cup grated or finely shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp Chopped fresh basil or parsley (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12 by 8-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in beef and cook and break up beef until cooked through.
3. Remove from heat and stir in marinara sauce and vegetable broth (I like to swish the vegetable broth around in the empty jar of marinara sauce to remove any excess, totally optional).
4. To assemble lasagna, spread 1/3 of the marinara sauce (about 1 1/2 cups) into bottom of baking dish. Top with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles.
5. Spread 1/2 of the ricotta over the noodles using the back of a spoon. Top evenly with 1/2 of the mozzarella (1 cup) and 1/2 of the parmesan (1/4 cup). Top with another 1/3 of the sauce.
6. Add 3 more uncooked lasagna noodles then spread evenly with with remaining 1/2 of the ricotta. Pour and spread over last 1/3 of the sauce. Top with remaining 1/2 of the mozzarella and parmesan.
7. Cover tightly with foil (you can grease first if the top of the lasagna will be touching the foil so cheese doesn't stick), bake 35 minutes.
8. Remove foil then continue to bake uncovered 10 minutes, or until lasagna is just tender (not soggy. There will seem to be a little liquid on the sides still). Let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley if desired.

Recipe Notes

• *A fattier beef will work you'll just need to drain off excess fat after cooking. I've also made this with down to as little as 10 oz. ground beef and it still tastes great it just depend on how meaty you want it (just keep in mind if going that route use about 1 1/3 cups sauce for each layer).
• **I know Rao's can be expensive (I always wait for it to go on sale for $5 or $6 a bottle and stock up). Another store-bought sauce I love is Classico Four Cheese that's much cheaper and I've tried that here as well but I'd recommend using 1/4 cup less broth since it came out a little runny.
• ***If you have block mozzarella and parmesan I've also used those and they work great. But if you want to save the prep time go with pre-shredded.

Read more