Beef Veggie Soup: a crock pot recipe
I just performed a culinary experiment with the goal of creating something delicious, easy and accommodating for my work schedule, and economical. I made this soup, and it turned out quite good if I do say so myself, so I wanted to share. Hope you find my contribution welcome!
TASTY BEEF VEGGIE SOUP - CROCK POT RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 1-1.5 cup(s) frozen vegetable medley or green beans
- 1-1.5 lbs. beef stew meat (I put a lot less in and it was still good)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper (or get a veggie medley with pepper already in it, this is cheaper)
- 2/3 cup uncooked pearl barley
- 1-1.5 cups water
- 1 can V8 juice, or 1 can tomato sauce
- 2 shakes of garlic salt
- ½ tsp. salt (only need a shake of salt, if any, if you use V8)
- ½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 2 14 oz cans of ready-to-serve beef broth (or make it from bullion etc.)
- 2 14 ounce cans of canned, diced tomatoes with roasted garlic, undrained
- Chopped celery as desired
Mix all ingredients in 3-5 quart crock pot. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-9 hours, or high setting for 4-5 hours until vegetables, stew meat, and barley are tender. Stir once during cooking time.
PRICING*:
$3.00 meat
$1.79 frozen veggies
$1.34 onion
$0.59 barley
$3.50 for 64 oz plastic bottle (much more economical than buying a single can)
$2.00 two cans of beef broth
$2.36 two cans of diced tomatoes
$1.39 celery
$15.97 total for 6 servings, which = $2.66 per serving.
* Prices are for the least expensive brand (usually store brand--Safeway) of each item, or least expensive variety of the item. I didn’t include any of the seasonings, because most of them tend to be kitchen staples, and their cost would be spread out between a variety of meals. Also left out the green bell pepper, because the veggie mix I priced includes peppers. Finally, the total could be less if you used tomato sauce, less meat, eliminated the celery, used green beans only instead of veggie mix, and made your own beef broth. :)
Suggestions or alterations are quite welcome as well!