We were visiting Gary and Trish in January 2019 at their home in Minnesota. It gets a bit on the cool side there at that time of year.

Gary made this soup for us. Man, it was so tasty, perfect for the chilling weather, and it was fast to prepare. Since that visit, we’ve made it a few more times and it’s just as good as the first time we ate it.

The recipe that follows is basically unchanged from what Gary provided to us. Yes, it’s odd for us to not made several changes to any given recipe, but this one is just excellent the way it is.

Fair warning; this makes a fair amount that will feed 6 to 8 with no problem. So if you’re cooking for two, go ahead and make it, but have your storage containers ready to save the leftovers for another day as this soup freezes very well.

One last thing before we head into the recipe, this one came from The Foodie Eats. Here is a direct link to the recipe on their site

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs. stew beef
• 1 Tbsp, sea salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 3 Tbsp, olive oil separated
• 3/4 cup yellow onions large dice
• 3 carrots roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp, garlic minced
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 8 oz. mushrooms roughly chopped (we like using baby portabellas and tend to put more in ’cause we like shrooms!)
• 6 thyme sprigs tied in bundle
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
• 1.5 lbs. new potatoes quartered
• 8 oz. frozen green beans (put the whole bag in!)
• 15 oz. canned sweet peas drained (we use frozen sweet baby peas)
• OPTIONAL:
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 cup of barley

Instructions

1. Season beef with salt and pepper. Then, using saute setting – once hot add 2 tablespoons of oil and thoroughly brown beef. Do this in two batches and do not stir too frequently. After the first batch, add 1 more tablespoon of oil. Do not wipe or rinse bottom of pot! There’s so much flavor in there!
2. Continuing on saute setting – add onions, carrots, garlic, celery, mushrooms, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, making sure to scrape up any bits on bottom.
3. Then, return beef to pot and add all remaining ingredients (you can really add whatever vegetables you prefer) and mix well. Lock lid and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
4. Once cook time is complete, allow pressure to release naturally (will take about 25 minutes). Remove thyme bundle and bay leaves. Serve and enjoy!

NOTES

We generally need to add additional liquid after the pressure cooking finishes. Move it to a larger pot and add a couple cups more of chicken stock.