Ham and Vegetable Barley Stew

Have a ham bone leftover and not sure what to do with it? Try out this clean, thick and hearty ham and vegetable barley stew! If you don’t have a ham bone, leftover ham works too. 

As you know, I started ICU this week. I woke up Sunday morning bright and early in a cold, panicked sweat.

Then my paranoia turned on and I had to make certain that it wasn’t actually already Monday. By the time I had reassured myself that I actually wasn’t off by a day, I was very much awake. However, I had also realized that I still was with my family and that it was Easter! So it all worked out. And then all of a sudden Monday hit and it was like:

I woke up Monday to my alarm bright and early. Except it wasn’t bright 🙁 It was dark out, pouring rain and cold. I felt like I was in some sort of movie since it always seems to stormy and all gloom and doom during those sad, somber parts. So, my month on the unit started out like:

The days are long and can be intensive. During the day, the ICU team is part of the code team. They are called over the overhead intercom system and we also carry code pagers. So if there is a code anywhere in the hospital we have to stop what we are doing as long as our patients that we are personally taking care of are not crashing at the moment and run to it. So far there have been 2 post-operative codes and an emergent intubation. So, although my wish for no codes was pretty quickly dashed at least 1. All patients have survived thus far 2. It counts as exercise 3. I count that intubation as a save, because had we not, that patient would have definitely coded. =win.

Oh well, at least I have some awesome meals to keep me going this month already set to go. This recipe I am about to share with you is just one of the many I have prepped! The stew is a great way to get to get a hearty helping of vegetables (lots of fiber and nutrients!) and is so delicious. It is also a great way to use your leftover ham/hambone! If I could just share with you how yummy this stew smells, though, oh man, trust me I would. I guess you’ll just have to make it for yourself to see!

How do you like to use your leftover ham-bones?

Ham and Vegetable Barley Stew

Yum

Print Recipe

• CourseMain Dish

Servings	Prep Time
5 servings	30 minutes

Cook Time

4-8 hours

Servings Prep Time 5 servings 30 minutes

Cook Time 4-8 hours

Ham and Vegetable Barley Stew Yum Print Recipe CourseMain Dish Servings Prep Time 5 servings 30 minutes Cook Time 4-8 hours Servings Prep Time 5 servings 30 minutes Cook Time 4-8 hours

Ingredients

• 1 hambone (with ham) (or can use leftover ham)
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 large potato, diced
• 1 can low-sodium tomatoes
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 3/4 cup barley
• ~1 teaspoon oregano
• ~1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1 bay leaf

Servings: servings

Instructions

1. Place hambone in the bottom of the slow cooker
2. Wash the potato, and dice (keep the skin!)
3. Peel and chop the carrots, chop the celery, and dice the onion
4. Add all vegetables and barley to the slow cooker along with spices and bay leaf
5. Add 3-4 cups of water. (More if you want it more soup like, less if you want it more stew like) I added ~3.5 cups of water
6. Stir and place lid on slow cooker. Cook on low for at least 4-6 hours (or until barley and vegetables are tender)
7. Either towards, or at the end of cooking, be very careful and remove the ham bone. Remove the ham from the bone and any fat. Replace the ham into the slow cooker and stir.
8. Use a ladle to serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

1. If you plan on making the dish just to freeze for later, I recommend letting the ham bone cool longer so it is not so hot. Ladle out into single size freezer and microwavable safe dishes and let completely cool before placing into freezer.
2. I got 5 servings out of this. Depending on how big you make your portions, you may get more or less
3. As the stew cools, it will continue to thicken.
4. I just used water since all of the vegetables and ham bone give it such an excellent flavor. I find there is no need to add extra salt or stock to this dish.
5. If you need to make modifications based on dietary needs, but are not sure what to do, just let me know and I will help you find a way to modify the recipe to make it work for you!

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