Slow Cooker Beef Barley Stew

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Sprinkle beef fairly generously with kosher salt and pepper. If you own this awesome slow cooker, where you can brown meat right in the slow cooker – add the oil to the slow cooker and then brown the beef right in the slow cooker, searing beef on all sides. Otherwise use a large skillet over medium-high heat to heat the oil and then brown the beef. Drain off fat. If using a skillet, transfer beef to slow cooker. You will need a large slow cooker for this recipe, as it makes a big quantity (ours is a 7-qt. size).
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3. Sprinkle beef fairly generously with kosher salt and...