Reviewed: Apr. 22, 2012

As is this is not bad at all. Though, I didn't have tomato sauce, so I subbed in a can of diced Italian style tomatoes. After tasting, I just felt it needed a little more added to it to make it a perfect, complete meal. So - I added frozen mixed vegetables, a glug of red wine and some more seasonings to the crock pot. What happened was a complete meal with plenty of flavor. This was an excellent base to make my own version of beef barley soup. Thank you!

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Reviewer:

Mother Ann

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Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Streetsboro, Ohio, USA

Living In: Ravenna, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 8, 2012

This was only okay. I know it has received a lot of positive reviews, but we found it pretty bland as written. Perhaps if you added a bunch of additional spices, but that is not what the recipe calls for. So as written, I can only give it 3 stars.

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Reviewer:

Elizabeth

Reviewed: Mar. 8, 2012

I did not have beef broth or bouillon cubes, I use a can of brown gravy with onions, added 4 cups of water, carrots and celery and a little more barley and alot of seasoning. DELICIOUS!!

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Reviewer:

Jeanette

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Bronx, New York, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 20, 2012

Only used 4 cups of water, large tin of diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. I added four chopped carrots and two sticks of celery, 2 bay leaves, garlic and Italian seasoning. It needed to cook longer than 5 hours to get texture right, closer to 8. Very nice. I think a bit of tomato paste would have been nice, but I forgot. Also might have been nice to add some peas at the end.

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Reviewer:

DEARSTARLA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: San Diego, California, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 8, 2012

I didn't really enjoy this recipe. I am not sure if it had too much onions but the taste wasn't that good to me husband and I.

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Reviewer:

Angie O.

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: Jan. 6, 2012

Very tasty, very easy, very thick. I used boxed beef broth instead of bouillon. Would definitely make again--both my kids loved it.

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Reviewer:

..thru his stomach

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Evanston, Illinois, USA

Living In: Geneva, Illinois, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2011

yummy!

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Reviewer:

pinkchick627

Reviewed: Nov. 8, 2011

Mmmmm.....very comforting food.

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Reviewer:

Ardys

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Spring Grove, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 21, 2011

This is a great basic soup recipe that you can alter to suit your tastes. For example, I used beef broth instead of bouillon and water. I added garlic, carrots, celery, and a can of petite diced tomatoes (drained), as well as a splash of red wine. I also browned the meat (after dredging in flour, S&P) and veggies first before placing in the crock pot. Then deglazed the pan with some of the broth and added that to the crock pot. Tossed in some fresh rosemary from my garden. These extra steps resulted in a hearty soup with lots of Italian flavor!

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BlueHydrangea

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Belmar, New Jersey, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2011

I bought "stew meat" (whatever type of beef that is) and it worked perfectly. I also added chopped spinach towards the end of the the cooking time. I've made it twice in the last month thinking I was going to freeze some for later, but we just loved it so much that there wasn't any to freeze! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

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