Beef Stew with Barley

This comes from "Publix's Apron's Simple Meals". The ingredients looked good and you can pretty much rely on Publix recipes. There have been few that I've tried "in-store" demo that I didn't like. This is definitely a keeper and one that warms your tummy on those OH SO COLD days. My notes are in red.

Large Zip Lock Bag
2 1/2 lb boneless beef chuck roast
3 Tbls flour
1 tsp pepper
2 Tbls canola oil
4-5 petite red potatoes
1 large onion
4 celery ribs
8 oz fresh cut carrots
1-14.5 oz can Italian-styled diced tomatoes
1-32oz box reduced-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 c. quick cooking pearled barley

1.) Cut beef into 3" chunks (mine were about 2"). Preheat large saute' pan on medium high heat 2-3 minutes. Place into large zip-lock bag, beef, flour & pepper; seal and shake to coat. Place oil in pan, add beef; cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned. Do in batches as to not crowd the pan and let beef brown instead of "steam".

2.) Cut potatoes into quarters. Peel onion and cut into quarters. Cut celery into 1/2 inch pieces. I used whole carrots cut into 2" pieces with larger ends halved. Place beef in slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients (except barley) and cook 4-6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

3.) Stir in barley about one hour before serving. Do not replace lid and cook 1 hour uncovered or until barley & beef are both tender) I missed this part and covered the slow cooker for 1 hour and it was fine. I added extra broth as the gravy was almost gone.

For my taste, 1 cup of barley was A LOT. 1/2-2/3 cup would be plenty unless you LOVE barley. I think it absorbed a lot of the gravy/broth. The recipe as is needs lots of salt, also. Please salt to taste.