Crockpot: Barley Vegetable Soup

[Erudite]

1 15 oz can red beans, rinsed and drained (I used pinto beans)
1 10 oz pkg frozen whole kernal corn (I used canned corn, drained)
1/2 cup pearl barley
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes (I use a pint)
2 cups mushrooms (I don't add these)
1 cup chopped onions
1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped (I use 2)
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped (I use 2)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp pepper
5 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (I use 5 tsp veggie bouillion and 5 cups of water)

1. Put everything in the crockpot and pour broth overall.
2. Cover, cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours or on high heat setting for 4-5 hours.

GOOD stuff! Great as leftovers too.
4 weight watchers points per 1 cup serving.

[natickgirl]

Thanks for the recipes. Now that I'm working, my crockpot is my friend. I'm always looking for new recipes, and my family loves soup. Yesterday (fast Sunday) I made delicious & easy "french dip" sandwiches in the crockpot:

1 med. roast beef (I used a cheaper cut since it was going to be cooking a long time)
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 cup water

Rub soup mix on all sides of roast. Put roast in crockpot & pour water over top & around sides. Cover & cook on low for 8+ hours. Remove roast & shred with two forks, removing fat. Skim oil from top of liquids left in the crockpot, and pour remaining "au jus" over beef. Mix together, and serve meat on hamburger buns or deli rolls. My whole family loved it! I served it with carrot & celery sticks, pickles, sweet potato fries, and apple slices.

[Erudite]

Sound yummy, NG! I've got quite a few good crockpot recipes now. I'll try to post a few more for you.

[Meticulous madness]

NG - can I ask how you make your sweet potato fries? I tried to make some recently, and wasn't all that impressed.

---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:48 PM ----------

ER (and everybody) - please keep 'em coming. I love crockpot recipes for sure!

[Erudite]

Here's the recipe I mentioned in my menu! I use dried onion (1/4 cup) and dried garlic (1 tsp).

[Dia Minha]

Hehehe! Took me more than a couple of minutes to figure out this thread.

Thanks for bumping it up. Looks yummy! I'll have to see if I can figure out the exchange factor.

---------- Post added at 10:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 PM ----------

OH, I failed to mention that we do not like red beans. Our favorites are pinto and black by far. The kids love gabanzo, but I don't. I use to, but after my last baby, I don't know, it is like my taste buds changed or something. So I will probably use pinto too.

[Erudite]

Yeah, I never use red beans either. I was doubling this yesterday so that I could take some to my SIL and I used one can of pinto and one of black, so we got the mix. Quite yummy!