French Onion Beef Barley Soup

Hard to believe that bowl of deliciousness is actually healthified. 

 Only 2 teaspoons of oil and then just lots of onion, mushrooms, barley, and steak. 

According to Myfitnesspal, per serving (1/5th of recipe OR generous 1 1/2 cups):

437 calories, 52 carbs, 10 fat, and 31 protein.

You could even leave off the bread and cheese on top and the nutritional info is:

342 calories, 35 carbs, 9 fat, and 27 protein.

340 to 440 calories for dinner is pretty darn good. Especially when you get to indulge in a huge bowl of crazy tastiness. 

I kept the bread and cheese on mine though... I mean... why not? I used whole grain bread and partly skim cheese so and it is sooooooooooooooo good.

*drool*

I love that it has the flavor of French onion soup with the heartiness and bulk of a beef and barley stew. 

I found the recipe over at Cooking Light and changed it up a little. Click HERE if you would like to see the original recipe. 

French Onion Beef Barley Soup

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

2 tsp sesame oil

2 large onions, sliced (large slices)

1/2 cup shallots, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

15 medium button mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp brown sugar

1 - 11oz sirloin steak, diced in tiny cubes

4 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup white wine

2/3 cups pearl barley, uncooked

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 cups beef broth, low sodium

5 slices Dempster's 12 Grain Bread

1 1/4 cup partly skim mozzarella, shredded

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onions, shallots, and garlic. 

Saute about 10 minutes, until lightly brown. 

Add in the mushrooms, brown sugar, and steak cubes.

Saute another 10 minutes, scraping bottom of pan to loosen browned bits. 

Add in water, white wine, barley, soy sauce, and beef broth. 

Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 50 minutes. Until barley is tender.

While this is cooking you can toast your Dempster's bread and cut it into little cubes. Set aside.

When barley is cooked, preheat broiler.

Ladle soup into bowls placed on a cookie sheet.  

Place bread cubes on top of soup. (1 piece of bread per bowl)

Top each with 1/4 cup of the shredded mozza.

Place about 3 - 4 inches from broiler in oven and cook until cheese is melty - about 1 - 2 minutes. (Keep an eye on it!)

Try to control the urge to dive right in there. It's uber hot! 

The first time I made this I discovered - too late to buy more - that my cheese was moldy. I ended up shredding some aged cheddar to top the soup.

Also delicious by the way.

This does not feel healthy at all. It feels like you are indulging in a very sinful meal. Of course, as I mentioned above, you can healthify it even more by leaving the bread and cheese off BUT, seriously, whyyyyyyyy?

New favorite meal for those chilly winter days. 

Be sure to visit these great blogs for tons of tasty & crafty links - Adorned From Above, Dizzy Busy & Hungry, Easy Life, My Turn (for us), and Hungry Happenings and Carole's Chatter.