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Crock Pot Cuisine

January 31st, 2007 at 12:35 am

Rewind to Monday evening: The weather was forecast to be frigid the next day, and I knew I wouldn’t be home until after 6:00.
Sounds like a perfect opportunity to use the 'ol Crock Pot!

I wanted to try a new recipe-- my only criteria were that the meal be:

* Vegetarian (or easily adaptable to Vegetarian)
* Contained barley and lots of vegetables (wanted to use up both of these)

I found a lot of soup recipes online, but the only issue was that I didn’t want a soup that was basically just diced tomatoes, broth, vegetables and barley. Been there, done that—we needed a change. So, I was pleased to this recipe for Slow Cooker Creamy Vegetable Barley Soup.



It fit my criteria for ingredients, and the “creaminess” was a nice variation to an old stand-by. Another bonus was that the creaminess comes from skim milk and corn starch, not fattening cheese.

The recipe couldn’t have been any easier to prepare. I threw it all together last night in less than 5 minutes. I did make some changes to the vegetables in the recipe: I used frozen corn, frozen green beans, 2 peeled diced potatoes, garlic and a can of diced tomatoes with chilies in lieu of the recommended vegetables. I also omitted the parsley.

The end result was tasty and filling. It’s not something I’d enter in a cooking contest or request on my birthday, but for a frugal, quick, and healthy mid-week meal, it will be on my “REPEAT” list.

In the future, I’d like to cook more with barley. It’s a great source of soluble fiber, and a 1 pound bag costs on $0.49. Any recommendations?

Posted in Cooking | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Crock Pot Cuisine”

  1. AutumnxButterfly Says:
    January 31st, 2007 at 02:06 am 1170209198
    1170209198

    No recommendations, I am a horrible cook. LOL But, I was wondering, do you leave your crockpot on while you are gone to work? I hardly ever use mine because I am afraid I will burn the house down. I would love to use it more.

  2. threebeansalad Says:
    January 31st, 2007 at 02:17 am 1170209870
    1170209870

    I do leave it on while I am not home. There really isn't much to the slow cooker that could catch on fire-- although it's wise to keep it away from things that could catch fire (like curtains). I use the slow cooker alot in the summer since it doesn't heat up the kitchen like the oven. Sometimes I even put it in the basement of the front porch to further eliminate adding heat to the house.

  3. boomeyers Says:
    January 31st, 2007 at 04:31 am 1170217918
    1170217918

    I leave mine on the counter all day to cook while we are gone. It does not put out lots of electircal current.

  4. baselle Says:
    January 31st, 2007 at 04:43 am 1170218617
    1170218617

    I make a lovely barley salad 'aka Scottish tabouli' with barley, corn, chopped tomatoes, chopped parsely and red onion, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. Its best when you don't use a ton of barley.

    I haven't explored this thought but do you think that barley plays well with others? That is, adding barley to a mixed pilaf kind of dish - rice, barley, wild rice, quinoa, kasha, etc.

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