erehweslefox
Sous Chef
I noticed we have a couple of threads going at this time about stretching your food dollar. As many of you know, I am a history buff, and often look to historical recipes for inspiration. pottage is the quintessential peasant food of Britain, and a good way to both recycle leftovers, and to make a nutritious meal in a pot.
When I was in grad school, we always had a pot of it either going, being eaten, or in portions. Referred to it as 'grad student chow'. Nowadays my wife and I refer to a portion of pottage as 'porsh', as in, well you won't be home at a decent hour, do you want me to hold your food, or will you grab a porsh?
I also do have two 10 gallon pails of unhulled barley, amusing story, my barley manufactuer, Bread Beckers, was going out of business, so I bought what I thought was two gallons, turned out to be two ten gallon pails. So I have a ton of barley.
Pottage is a mixture of grains, meat, and vegetables. Usually we throw into the pot what we have, it is excellent for cleaning up leftovers, for instance. Don't feel bound by this recipe, Let's call this one an 'ideal' pottage.
Pottage (ideal)
1 lb ground beef
6-8 cloves garlic
1 cup unhulled barley
2 cups stock
1 can ro-tel diced tomatoes and chillies
1 can black beans
1 large onion
16 oz chopped spinich, frozen, or an equal amount fresh
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 tsp cayanne
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp mustard
salt and black pepper to taste.
1 tbsp olive oil
brown the meat in olive oil, with garlic and onion. Drain grease and reserve.
Add barley and stock to a large stock pot, bring to boil.
Add remaining ingredients, and reserved meat.
Reduce heat to a simmer, simmer for at least an hour.
Easy peasy. you can portion these out, and freeze them, they freeze very well.
It is pretty cheap, particularly if you already have barley.
When I was in grad school, we always had a pot of it either going, being eaten, or in portions. Referred to it as 'grad student chow'. Nowadays my wife and I refer to a portion of pottage as 'porsh', as in, well you won't be home at a decent hour, do you want me to hold your food, or will you grab a porsh?
I also do have two 10 gallon pails of unhulled barley, amusing story, my barley manufactuer, Bread Beckers, was going out of business, so I bought what I thought was two gallons, turned out to be two ten gallon pails. So I have a ton of barley.
Pottage is a mixture of grains, meat, and vegetables. Usually we throw into the pot what we have, it is excellent for cleaning up leftovers, for instance. Don't feel bound by this recipe, Let's call this one an 'ideal' pottage.
Pottage (ideal)
1 lb ground beef
6-8 cloves garlic
1 cup unhulled barley
2 cups stock
1 can ro-tel diced tomatoes and chillies
1 can black beans
1 large onion
16 oz chopped spinich, frozen, or an equal amount fresh
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 tsp cayanne
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp mustard
salt and black pepper to taste.
1 tbsp olive oil
brown the meat in olive oil, with garlic and onion. Drain grease and reserve.
Add barley and stock to a large stock pot, bring to boil.
Add remaining ingredients, and reserved meat.
Reduce heat to a simmer, simmer for at least an hour.
Easy peasy. you can portion these out, and freeze them, they freeze very well.
It is pretty cheap, particularly if you already have barley.
You did leave out one item though. "The Kitchen Sink!" 
is that in your daily vocabulary?
