Pot Roast Soup

In my attempt to reduce cost and food waist I make several meals from one piece of meat. I mean this is how some of the best dishes have come to be, making something out of leftovers. The other day I made pot roast, we don't eat a lot of meat in one setting so I can buy one chuck roast cut it in half and freeze half of it for a later date and still have leftovers.

This pot roast was prepared by seasoning the beef on all sides with salt and pepper and browning all sides in a hot pan with oil. I tried something new this time, I dusted the meat with some flour.

I then covered the meat in onion and put a lid on the pan placed in a 350F oven and went to pick up my Daughter and from school, about an hour. When we got home we got the potatoes and carrots ready to add to the roast along with a little wine that I had open in the fridge a little more S&P, some water and some bay leaves. Recovered the dutch oven and placed it back into the oven until all was done, another hour or so.

Pot Roast Soup AKA Beef Barley Soup

With the left over Pot roast I decided to make Beef soup with Barley. I have never made it and I usually am not much of a fan, but I thought that is would be a nice change on the table.

I chopped up a large onion and started it caramelizing (all soups start with this step) I then rinsed 1 cup barley and got that cooking in a pot with 2.5 cups water per the directions on the bag. I did add to the barley water a bay leaf, salt, and pepper corns. I cooked it for about 4o minutes. I am supposed to cook it longer but I had to get daughter from school. while the barley was cooking I finished caramelizing the onions and added half of the left over roast (that I pulled into pieces) and some minced garlic and a can of stewed tomatoes that my aunt Tana had canned and given to me. I then put the undercooked barley in with everything and turned it off and went and got DD from school. One hour later I turned the soup on and let it come to a boil, and added half a can of beer, some drippings from a roast turkey I had in the freezer ( you know the juices that most people turn into gravy, we don't eat gravy so I freeze it to add to soups, yum) and I cut up some of the leftover carrots and potatoes and, because I add it to most soups, some cauliflower. I Cooked the soup until the cauliflower and barley was done.

The soup was a little thick and there was twice as much barley then there should have been and cauliflower does not belong in beef soup (trust me) the soup was tasty, as good as I have tasted beef barley soup and I have had several not as good. In the end I think we had a winner. Tomorrow Beet pot pie with the rest of the leftovers.