See what Andrea’s cooking up!

Today is the last Tuesday of September. How can that be? Yesterday’s storms blew in much cooler weather. I welcome it along with hat and mitt wearing days. Oatmeal and soup weather. My crockpot came out of hiding today. Tomorrow night, I’ll be coming home to tantalizing aromas and dinner right away. That will give me extra time to knit a bit before I get too tired to see.  What’s for dinner? I’m thinking Mushroom Beef Barley Soup. Here’s my recipe. You can make it vegetarian/ vegan by omitting the beef and beef stock, then replacing it with more mushrooms and vegetable stock.

Andrea’s Mushroom Beef Barley Soup recipe:
Ingredients:
1 lb. Stew Beef
Assorted vegetables: Carrots, Celery, Onion, Parsnip, Potato, Peppers. Use any or all, what ever you want or have
Mushrooms- Lately I’ve been loving different types like Shiitake, Lions Mane, Cremini and so much more. Just use your favorite.
A clove or three of thinly sliced garlic
1 can of Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, diced
1 can of tomato paste- optional
1 quart of Beef or Vegetable Stock
1 cup red wine (optional but yummy-use your drinking wine, not cheap stuff)
½ cup barley (not the quick cook kind)
Assorted spices, I like Italian blends and basil, salt & pepper

Add all ingredients but the barley to the slow cooker. Cook 6-8 hours on low. One hour before you serve, add the barley and give it a good stir. Change the temp to high and cook for an additional hour.  I serve this with grated parm and a good crusty bread.

As you can see, my recipes are more of a guideline than an actual measuring recipe. How many of you stitch like that? I find many crocheters are very organic with their stitching. Knitters can tend to be pattern followers.  I love to see where my needles take me when I go off-roading with my knitting. I seem to tweak patterns and customize it to suit me. What about you?