Gave it three stars only because the recommendation to use 1/2 cup of barley was off. It should be a 1/4 or less or not at all. I like barley, but doing this in the crock pot with so many starchy potatoes made this turn mushy. And, on top of that the barley absorbed a lot of the sauce/gravy. I would also step up the seasoning and probably double most of the recommendations.

Well, I made this for dinner today. First, if Fall had a taste, this is what it would taste like! I browned the beef, added the onions,garlic & salt. Put in CP added the rest, Including the pearl barley. I ran it on high for a couple hours and turned it down to low when I left for work. I checked it a couple of times. Please do not cook beef till tender before you add it to the cp. I did it the way I said and the meat was more then fork tender. I had it cooking from 6am till 4:30pm. My hubby liked it a lot! This stew has soo many flavors going on. You get a chunk of beef in one bite and then you get a yam. As I was making this dish, I was thinking, these items don't go together, but some how they work very well with each other.:) I served it with mixed veggies and buttered sourdough bread. I will make this again:)Thank You Very much Basg! One perfect meal for the up coming season!!