By popular demand (two requests :-) ), herewith is one of our favorite winter soups. It's hearty, healthy, can be done either on the stove or in a crockpot, and definitely qualifies as a comfort food. Great with a whole-grain bread and better the second day!
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Brown 1 lb. of stew meat or hamburger and drain if necessary. (You can also use leftover cooked roast.) Add 1/2 c. chopped onion and 1-2 cloves garlic, minced; cook for 2-3 minutes. Add:
- 7 c. beef broth or water
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2-1 c. chopped onion
- 1 c. sliced celery
- 1/2 c. sliced carrots
- 1/2 c. pearled barley
- 2-4 bullion cubes (if using water)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp. basil
Cover and bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer and cook for 1 hour. Barley soaks up a lot of liquid so add more water if necessary. Add 1 pkg. frozen French green beans, cover and cook another 20 minutes, again adjusting liquid level if necessary.
Enjoy!
I checked out a great cookbook from the library this week and thought I'd give it a recommendation here. It's called Low-Carb Cooking with Stevia by James Kirkland.
You're sure to get a lot of your stevia questions answered here--from all the various forms it comes in to how to use this sweetener as a sugar substitute in baking and cooking. Having checked a number of other stevia cookbooks before, I'd have to say this is one I'd like for my kitchen. Kirkland not only takes the guesswork out of substitutions, but uses some ingredients I wouldn't have thought of to bring the carb counts down on favorite dishes.
He has authored another, more basic, cookbook called Sugar-Free Cooking with Stevia which I'd also recommend.