This soup recipe came to be on our first rainy fall afternoon. Craving the warmth and comfort of a good, rich, soup, I found myself at the butcher counter with a couple of short ribs, a small beef shank and some stew meat. With the veggies I had from the farmers market, we were in business.
After making the broth, feel free to toss in any add in’s you might have stashed in the fridge & pantry. The beauty is the broth makes itself, so there is no need to buy prepackaged broth or stock. Just add water.
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THE COMPARISON: Progresso Beef Barley Vegetable vs. Out of the Box Food Vegetable Beef and Barley Soup
(All ingredients followed by an * can be referenced at www.wikipedia.org by clicking on the ingredient)
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*Trying to avoid MSG? Pay special attention to the description of the hydrolyzed corn and soy proteins.
Progresso Rich & Hearty Savory Beef Barley Vegetable
Ingredients:
- beef broth
- cooked beef
- carrots
- green beans
- tomatoes
- barley
Contains less than 2% of:
- corn
- celery
- modified food starch*
- water
- sugar
- salt
- corn and soy proteins (hydrolyzed)*
- wheat flour, bleached*
- potassium chloride*
- onion powder
- beef fat
- garlic powder
- spice
- caramel color*
- dried parsley
- citric acid
- sodium phosphate*
- natural flavor*
- yeast extract*
- calcium chloride*
- corn oil
**All listed product ingredients are taken from the product’s package or website. Though Out of the Box Food makes every effort to provide complete ingredient information, please check the package/website for the most current information.
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Out of the Box FoodSM Vegetable Beef & Barley Soup
Special Equipment: Dutch oven or large soup pot.
Ingredients:
- 1 small beef shank (bone in – 3/4lb)
- 2 beef short ribs (bone in – 3/4 lb)
- 3/4 lb beef stew meat
- 1 medium onion, cut into eighths
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 4 celery sticks
- 4 medium carrots
- 4 sprigs fresh Thyme
- 10 C water
- 1 C white beans (navy, canneleni, etc), cooked
- 1/2 C dried barley, cooked (or uncooked quick cooking barley)
- 1/4 C red wine
- Olive oil (for browning)
Directions:
- Heat heavy bottomed soup pot over medium.
- Salt & pepper the beef shank, short ribs and stew meat.
- Drizzle a little olive oil into the hot soup pot.
- Brown the beef shank and short ribs on both sides then remove from pot and set aside.
- Add another splash of olive oil to the pot and repeat with stew meat. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Add another splash of olive oil to pot and add onion. Cook until translucent, stiring frequently (about 3-4 minutes)
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Halve two carrots and two celery stalks.
- Add water, thyme halved carrots, halved celery and all browned meat to the pot. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for two hours. (This step can also be done in a slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours)
Step 2:
- Remove carrots and celery from pot.
- Chop remaining two carrots and two celery stalks.
- Add chopped celery, carrots, beans and barley to pot.
- Add red wine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook another 20 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender. Serve.
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Next Monday we’ll all be surrounded by Halloween terror and screams – not the least of which will come from our mouths as our kids prepare to shove processed trick-or-treat candy into their bodies. Not to worry. We’ve got a few ideas and tricks up our sleeve and will share them with you in our next post. Until next week…
I can guarantee that I will make the Out of the Box FoodSM Vegetable Beef & Barley Soup
as soon as possible. I know that it will be so very delicious.
I am working hard to develop my business “BeefStew.ca.” So far it is paying off.
I am so very glad that I have stumbled upon this site. I wish I had started sooner.
Sincerely,
Robert McLean
Hello, after reading Mary’s comment I realized I missed that you already mentioned the slow cooker. Oops!
Kim! This looks so good! I ALWAYS add red wine to my pot roast, but never thought to do so with the stew. I’m sure the 1/4 cup will be the perfect hint. Our recipes are so similar, but I do mine in the crock pot…after searing the meat of course.
So excited as the first batch of beef stew is on the menu for this week. Adding a bit of wine now for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Now you’ve got me craving beef stew too! Thanks for the comment, Katie!
Sounds warm and comforting. Can’t wait for it to cool off to try this.
Let me know how it goes!
Another great post! Looking forward to making this soup for fall. We will probably go the slow cooker route so thank you for including that reminder. I like the Halloween preview too!
Thanks, Mary! Slow cooker is a great way to go for sure! I would probably add the beans and barley toward the end in the slow cooker so they don’t over cook. Thanks for the comment!