Nif'S Hearty Healthy Beef Barley Soup

• 3/4 lb beef sirloin, trimmed, cubed into bite sized pieces
• 2 cups carrots, diced
• 2 cups celery, diced
• 1 1/2 cups onions, diced
• 2 cups potatoes, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced (optional)
• 2 (10 ounce) cans mushrooms, use juice too (if using whole mushrooms, cut in half)
• 1 3/4 cups pearl barley
• 12 cups nonfat beef broth (substitute chicken if no beef)
• 2 bay leaves

1. Spray large pot with extra virgin olive oil spray. Over med-high heat, lightly brown beef and then add veggies, except for mushrooms. Saute for a 3-5 minutes.
2. Add broth, bay leaf, barley, mushrooms (with juice). Bring to boil.
3. Lower heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes or until barley and veggies are tender. Remove bay leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.

beef sirloin, carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, garlic, shallot, mushrooms, pearl barley, nonfat beef broth, bay leaves

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/nifs-hearty-healthy-beef-barley-soup-347345 (may not work)