Super Easy Soup

When I buy a beef roast I cut it up into small portions, about 8 ounces each and freeze them for future use.  Today I took one of those portions out of the freezer around 10 this morning, thawed it a bit in the microwave and put it into this handy little crockpot with two pieces of bay leaf underneath.  By 1 o'clock it was tender as could be, surrounded by nice thick gravy, courtesy of a little gravy mix, a spoon of cornstarch and a cup of water, added earlier.

When we were clearing up the dishes after dinner, there was still a cup of thick gravy left in the crockpot.  I couldn't let that go to waste, so I added 1/2 cup of pearl barley, 1 1/2 cups of water, 2 ribs of celery (including leaves), 1/2 an onion chopped, one good sized carrot cut into small pieces, and 1/2 cup of corn kernels.  Let that simmer all afternoon, with the lid on.  Now I added another cup of water with a little beef bullion concentrate.  It will make a satisfying supper on a fairly cold, dark night.

I could also make it a little heartier by adding some precooked loose hamburger that I have in the freezer.

Winter time is soup time!