Mushroom Lentil Barley Stew

"This recipe is definitely a keeper, although (as others said) there is too much pepper. I actually enjoy that much heat in many recipes, but in this recipe it dominates too much over the more subtle ..." See moreflavors. I will cut in half at least next time, and maybe a quarter for my toddlers' sake. A really neat thing about this recipe is that most of the ingredients are dry or easily replaced with dry ingredients, so it is easy to pre-mix on the weekend, store in a Ziploc bag on a shelf, and then throw in a crockpot with 2 quarts of water in the morning before work any day of the week - or even a month later, if you use an oxygen-reducing packet. I replaced broth with boullion and garlic with garlic powder. Button mushrooms were the only fresh ingredient we used, and I since found a way to order freeze-dried mushrooms - so next time I will be using entirely dry ingredients and then will "just add water". "

"Yum! I chopped up a whole onion instead of using flakes. Before putting everything into the crockpot, I sauteed the onion, 2 minced cloves of garlic, one grated carrot, and one minced jalapeno in som..." See moree olive oil. Then I put that into the crockpot. I didn't have savory, so I just used italian seasoning in lieu of that and the basil. A keeper!"

"this is a great, healthy, low-fat recipe...i have made it several times. HOWEVER, i would recommend that you cut the amount of black pepper in the recipe in half (to 1 tsp) because otherwise, it has ..." See morea lingering burn and your lips will be on fire by the end of a bowl!!!"