Crockpot Lamb & Barley Stew

We've been doing a lot of eating out of our freezer lately.  We had a boneless lamb roast in the freezer that Josh made for dinner the other night (Sundays are his night to cook) and it was delicious, but way bigger than we could finish on our own.  We had a lot of lamb leftover so we decided to make lamb and barley stew with the leftovers.

This is a recipe that my mom used to make with leftover lamb that was on the bone.  She makes it on the stove but I thought it would be perfect for the crockpot.  If you aren't a fan of lamb, this would work with leftover beef as well.

Start out by cutting up the leftover lamb into bite sized chunks.  Chop up three medium carrots, three stalks of celery, and a medium onion.

Spray your crockpot with cooking spray and put in your meat, chopped veggies, and 4 cloves of minced garlic.   Add in some pearl barley, a couple of bay leaves,  and some dried rosemary.  Pour in 4 cups of beef stock, give it all a good stir and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8.

I like to top mine with a little bit of Parmesan cheese, but that's partly because I have a small obsession with Parmesan.  I also serve it with some sourdough bread.  It is wonderful dipped into the broth while you are waiting for the stew to cool.

This is a great meal for a cold night and the hands on time is minimal.  I love using my crock pot because it is so easy and it makes the house smell wonderful all day, so break out your crock pot and get a home cooked meal on the table without a lot of work.

Lamb & Barley Stew

• leftover lamb or beef roast cut into bite sized chunks, about 1 1/2 cups of chunks
• 3 medium carrots
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 medium onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
• 4 cups beef broth

1. Chop the carrots, celery, and onion.
2. Spray crockpot with cooking spray.
3. Add all ingredients to crockpot and stir to combine.
4. Cook on high 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
5. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve with sourdough bread if desired.

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