Beef & Barley Soup

Tonight's dinner was a hit, so I decided to share the recipe. Yum!!

1 1/2 lb. beef stew meat (I used 1 lb. of ground deer instead)
1 T. canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 c. chopped onion (I was out, so I used about 1/4 c. dried minced onion)
1 c. diced celery
1 c. sliced fresh carrots
1/2 c. chopped green pepper (I left this out b/c none of us like it)
4 c. beef broth
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. spaghetti sauce
2/3 c. medium pearl barley (I used some from a box of instant barley--I have no idea what 'medium pearl' means)
1 T. dried parsley
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil (I was out)
3/4 tsp. pepper

Brown the meat.
Mix everything together in a big pot & bring to a full rolling boil for about 5-10 min. Cover & remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
(Original recipe called for using the crockpot, but I didn't get the ingredients put together & ready to do it this morning, so I cooked it on the stove & it was great!)