Slow-cooker Beef Stew with Barley

 My husband really loves beef stew with barley and it has been forever since I last made it.  So, while I was out shopping last week, I found some beautiful beef tips and decided it was time to make it again.  Now, I will admit, I love beef stew, but I am not usually the best at making it.  It usually comes out too thin, like a soup instead of stew.  But this time I found a different recipe that I thought might help me do it right, and BOY was I right.  Now, I will reference the recipe here, but I really only took the base out of the recipe.  The rest is all me and what I prefer in my stew. 

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Adapted from: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/moms-slow-cooker-beef-stew/

2 ½ stew beef (I used beef tips for this batch)

2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

3 medium carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

8 oz mini bella mushrooms, quartered

1 lg red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

4 cups beef stock

1 cup red wine (I used pinot noir)

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 sprigs fresh thyme

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup flour

½ cup pearled barley

1.        In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over med-high heat.  Add beef in batches and sear until all sides are browned.  Remove to slow cooker.  Repeat until all beef is seared. 

2.        Add broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, thyme. garlic, bay leaves, carrots, mushrooms, and red peppers to the slow cooker and mix well. 

3.        Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours (I needed 6 hours for the tips, probably need 8 hours for chuck stew meat).  After about 3 hours of cooking time, pull about 2 cups of liquid from the pot and mix in flour until smooth.  Then add that back to the pot and continue cooking on LOW.

4.        At the end of the cooking time, raise the temperature to HIGH and wait until the liquid starts to boil.  Add the barley and cook another 25 minutes, or until the barley is cooked through.