Mushroom, Beef & Barley Soup

Well...It's still rainy/cloudy/foggy. One of my Facebook friends posted that her son said it was "sparkly" out. I thought that was great!

Fall has definitely arrived, so I'm continuing with another soup recipe.

I LOVE barley. A lot. No one else at my house really likes it so I don't get to cook with it as often as I like. But this soup ROCKS. Hearty, filling and great flavor. The three keys to a good fall soup.

Mushroom Beef and Barley Soup

1 1/4 lbs boneless beef top sirloin steak - It's on sale at Cub this week!
2 t vegetable oil - olive oil works, too
2 C sliced baby portobello mushrooms - I really encourage you to use these for the extra flavor the portobellos provide. But if you need to, regular mushroom suffice.
1/2 C chopped onion - I leave this out, of course.
3/4 C sliced carrots
3 T snipped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 t dried thyme
1 carton (32 oz) beef borth
1 C water, divided
2 T steak sauce
1/4 t each - salt and black pepper
1/2 C uncooked quick-cooking barley
1 T cornstarch

Trim fat from beef if needed. Cut into 1/2-inch cubed. Heat 1 t oil in a 4-quart pot. Brown beef in two batches, 3-4 minutes each, or until outside surfaces are no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside.

Slice mushrooms. Chop onion. Slice carrots. Snip parsley.

Add remaining oil in same pan. Add mushrooms, onion, garlic and thyme. Cook 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in broth. 3/4 C water, carrots, steak sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; stir in barley. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/4 C water and cornstarch. Return beef and cornstarch mixture to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. You are giving this time to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

This makes about 7 cups of soup.

I'd serve this with some crusty bread and butter! Yum!

Enjoy!