Barley-Vegetable Casserole

Hey Everyone!
For dinner I decided to make Barley-Vegetable Casserole which I found in one of my mother-in-law's cookbooks. (Recipe at the bottom of entry)

During this pregnancy it's difficult for me to eat meats right now. For some reason meats are making me nauseas. Thanks un-born baby! 😅 I found this was a vegetarian casserole and I got really excited!
I double the ingredients so I have leftovers for the week. While cooking I overfilled the first original skillet with onions. I had to get a larger skillet! I love onions! The smell, taste and everything about them. Thankfully I wear contacts so they dont effect my eyes while dealing with them.

My husband has been nothing but supportful in this and helps take the dishes in and out of the oven for me. He doesn't want me lifting much being pregnant!

After all the prep was done and the onions were cooked I put in the remainder of the ingredients (except for the frozen veggies) and let them bake away! After 40 minutes of anxiously waiting I tasted it to see how it was coming along. The barley obviously hadn't fully cooked yet but it was already exploding with flavor! As instructed I added the frozen veggies and stuck it back in for another 35 minutes.

After it was pulled out again I tried it once more only to realize the barley still needed more time. Anxious for this delicious dish to be done I put it back into the oven with 15 extra minutes hoping it would cook thoroughly.

Finally the timer rang and my husband and I practically ran into the kitchen excited to see the results. SUCCESS!! Barley and all the ingredients were fully cooked! What a beautiful sight! So many colors! Red, green, brown, yellow and more! The aroma filled the room with sweet harmony.

I put some in a bowl and my husband had the first bite. "YUM!" Was the first word out of his mouth. It needed a sprinkle of salt but other than that it was perfect. I myself enjoyed it very much. A small bowl is very filling. Once again I wish I could eat more than I could!

Second recipe was a success. The tomatoes have the strongest flavor in this dish. Though the others may take second in the flavor they aren't far behind. It's definitely more of a savory dish. Very satisfying! It turned out quite moistened. It wasn't dry in the slightest way.

Excited for how this has turned out!

Pregnant Cooking Mama Barefoot in the Kitchen,

Over and Out!