A Yummy Barley Recipe - #VeggieBurgers

Are you ready for another barley recipe?  Barley, as it turns out, is a wonderful grain.  I was able to create a Barley and Black Bean Burger of my own that looks like a real hamburger and tastes amazing! My inspiration comes from The Cooking Network and Pinterest!
I never even considered this additional reason as to why barley is great to cook with.  Aside from being high in protein and fiber, it is very inexpensive!  And when combined with another inexpensive food, black beans, it is a great budget meal!  I quite like veggie burgers but have come to understand that if they are purchased, many of them have additives and are full of GMO by-products, so make your own!  They look and taste so much better!  Here's what I did!

Barley and Black Bean Burgers - Yield: 4 Burgers

Black Beans take a long time to cook but are finally done here!

My Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. dried black beans, soaked overnight, cooked in crock pot on low until soft (low - 8 hours, high- 6 hours)

• 1/4 c. hulled barley, cooked on stove top until soft, usually about 1 hour

• 1/2 c. chopped green pepper

• 2 stalks celery chopped

• 1/3 cup chopped green onions or scallions

• 1/2 cup kale or chard chopped rough

• Approx. 3 Tbsp. bread crumbs or crushed croutons

• Olive oil

• Bacon drippings or oil of choice

• Salt and pepper

• 1/6 tsp. Chili Powder or to taste

• 1/4 tsp Seasoning Mix (I use Spike) or to taste

• 1/6 tsp. Cayenne or to taste

After beans and barley are cooked and soft (make sure to salt each while cooking), process them in a blender or food processor until they are well-mixed. 

In olive oil, sautee the vegetables until tender, adding kale or chard leaves last, cooking them until wilted.  Add in the seasonings to taste.  Add this into bean and barley mixture and blend until well processed.  In addition, add approximately 2 tsp. bacon drippings (or another oil of your choice), and the bread crumbs.  The mixture should be well mixed and feel like wet clay.  Form into 4 patties and put into frying pan and brown with oil of your choice.  

Burgers browning in the pan

Once browned, finish cooking them in a preheated 350 degree oven, about 15 - 20 minutes.  Serve on buns with tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments of your choice. 

Finished Sandwich

Serve with Sauteed Swiss Chard and Bacon!

Summer Bean And Barley Soup

I’ve been interested in cooking with different grains lately for health reasons, but also for diversity.  We recently rediscovered cracked wheat cereal and it’s not as terrible as I remember when I was a kid.  My cute mom would try to make us eat it, but to no avail!  The mistake she made with that was to have a variety of cold cereals tucked neatly into the cupboards. What sugar-infused kid wouldn’t prefer the artificial rush of manufactured cereal over cracked wheat?  We were good at holding out, that’s for sure! I've wondered what other kinds of grains are out there that I haven’t tried, but want to now!

 I’ve chosen barley as my grain du jour and will be focusing on some recipes here for the next little while.  For one thing, barley is a natural appetite suppressant, keeping you filled up for up to 16 hours, while being tasty and  nutritious. As someone who loves to eat-- and eat a lot--this would be a great weight control tool!  I know from first-hand experience that while it is hard enough to practice portion control when feeling satisfied, it is virtually impossible when hungry! 

Barley has the most fiber of all the grains, which is why you stay feeling fuller, longer.  It may also have anti-diabetes and anti-obesity actions.  Basically, it is eaten like rice, except it takes longer to cook.   Hulled barley is the best, because it has the tough outer shell taken off, but is still not processed other than that.  It’s also best to soak it overnight unless you are cooking it for a long time.

I made a Bean and Barley soup in the crock pot that was really tasty and super easy! It had Parmesan Cheese, bacon and lots of veggies. 

 I actually utilized the rind on the cheese, which is naturally salty, to give it a bit more flavor.  Also, because it's summer, I put my pot outside on a bar stool because I don't want the extra heat inside! That's why it's called Summer Bean and Barley Soup!  Put the pot inside and it becomes Winter Bean and Barley Stew!  See how that works?

Adding the rind to the mix!

Ingredients

1 cup multi-bean mix or Great Northern Beans, rinsed and soaked overnight.

½ cup barley

3 cloves garlic, smashed

3 medium carrots, roughly chopped

2 ribs celery, roughly chopped

½ medium onion, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

4 tsp. dried Italian herb blend

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 14-ounce can whole or diced tomatoes with juice

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

1 Parmesan cheese rind

Optional: 4 - 5 crisp bacon strips, crumbled, Hot n' Spicy All Purpose Seasoning

Mixture before cooking and adding water

 Directions

Put beans, barley, vegetables and seasonings and cheese rind into a crock pot.  Add 6 cups water, cover, and cook on high until the beans are tender and the soup is thick, which could be 6 – 8 hours. 

1 hour before done, add the tomatoes and stir well.  Just before serving, add the Parmesan and the crumbled bacon.  If you have any Hot 'n Spicy All Purpose Seasoning, you can put that on and it really makes the flavor pop! I use Spike. Serve with a crusty bread and salad.  You'll stay full for quite awhile! 

 

Finished Soup, ready to add condiments