Mushroom Barley Stew

I'll be honest, I didn't think Brad would like this.  But it turns out he loved it!  It's really filling and tastes hearty enough to not need any meat.  And best of all, you can make it in a crock pot!  So toss everything in before you go to bed and in the morning, voila!  Stew! 

You can play around with the ingredients, but this is what we did:

Ingredients

1 cup pearl barley

1½ cups lentils

6 cups water (you’ll probably need to add more)

2 cups white or portabella mushrooms sliced (use the whole container)

1 cup shitake mushrooms in chunks (use the whole container)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 chopped onion (instead of 1 tbsp of onion powder)

¼ cup olive oil

1 tbsp garlic powder (or use fresh garlic)

3 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste – not very much

½ tsp dried thyme

1-2 tbsp "beef" broth powder (veggie beef broth)

Directions

Add all ingredients to a crock pot.  Stir occasionally, add water as needed.  Cook for at least 4 hours on low.  Remove bay leaves when it's done.  Enjoy!