Molasses Joe's Vegetable Beef Stew This is one of those free-form recipes in which the precise amounts don't matter. Four cups beef broth (I use 2 Knorr beef bouillon cubes) Spices at whim Vegetables, all peeled and coarsely chopped: A couple of large potatoes A few large carrots An onion Barley (hulled or pearled) - any amount up to a cup About a pound of stew meat, in small chunks. (1/2-inch to 3/4-inch) Half a packet of Ritz crackers, crushed. (Add halfway through the cooking) Bring the whole thing to a boil, then simmer for forty minutes to an hour. Stir occasionally, but not too vigorously; once cooked, the potatoes can disintegrate. (That happened to me once. The whole batch later cooled to a gelatinous consistency.) Optional improvements for the not-so-lazy: Brown the outside of the stew meat in a frying pan before adding to the stew. Caramelize the chopped onion (saut‚ it in olive oil until partly browned) in the bottom of the pot before adding the rest of the ingredients. Note that crushing the Ritz crackers inside the packet is much more efficient than crumbling them between your fingers. I use the crackers for both thickening and the taste, but less flavorful thickening alternatives are flour (make sure it cooks for at least a half-hour after adding, to break up clumps), starting with a roux (which you could make as you finish saut‚ing the onions - just add flour to the onions and oil, and stir constantly while cooking for a couple of minutes), or using a little extra barley. (I haven't tried corn starch or arrowroot in this recipe.) Vegetarian/vegan alternative: Eliminate the stew meat, and substitute Knorr vegetable bouillon for the Knorr beef bouillon.