beef barley vegetable soup

I really, really, really enjoyed this soup.  I made this soup for the sister missionaries and another guest along with fresh baked whole wheat bread (Rhodes!), a salad and butterscotch bundt cake with fresh whipped cream.  I love a good soup so I will be making this again without a doubt.  One of my kids ate three bowls of it!

beef barley vegetable soup (adapted from allrecipes.com)
1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast
1/2 cup barley (next time I will use a full cup- it was yummy!)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon oil
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
5 cups water
5 cubes beef bouillon
1 tablespoon white sugar (I think I forgot to add that; can't remember!)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (28 ounce) can Italian style tomato puree
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

In a slow cooker, cook roast until very tender (usually 4-5 hours on high) with 1 cup water and 1 beef bouillon cube.  Add barley and bay leaf during the last hour of cooking.  Remove meat and chop into bite-size pieces.  Discard bay leaf.  Set beef, broth and barley aside.
Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Saute carrots, celery, onion and frozen mixed vegetables until tender.  Add water, beef bouillon cubes, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, tomato puree and beef/barley mixture.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-20 minutes.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.