Venison Vegetable Barley Soup

With fall's arrival, I have been craving Venison Stew. For some reason though while picking up the ingredients I decided to pick up some barley and make some Venison Vegetable Barley Soup instead. This soup was fantastic. Glad I have lots of leftovers for lunches.

Venison Vegetable Barley Soup

• 1 tsp Seasoned Salt
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1lb Venison Stew Meat, cut into 1" cubes
• 2 Tbs Canola Oil
• 4 Cups Beef Broth
• 3 Medium Potatoes, Peeled and Diced
• 1 Cup Sliced Fresh Carrots
• 1 Cup Chopped Celery
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
• 2 Cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables 
• 1 Can Diced Tomatoes Undrained
• 1/2 Cup Medium Pearl Barley
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper

Directions:

1. In a one gallon Ziploc bag, combine the seasoned salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Add the venison and shake well to coat.
2. Brown the venison in oil until the meat is no longer pink. Drain
3. Add browned venison to the slow cooker. Add the beef broth, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
4. Add corn, tomatoes, peas, green beans, barley, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 2 more hours. 

If you wanted a little more tomato flavor, you can substitute 1 cup of beef broth with 1 cup of tomato juice.