
Jenna Hobbs is a homestead mama living on the Alberta Prairies with her husband Travis and their five children ages 3 to 11 where she is busy homeschooling, keeping the farm, and running a successful photography company.


Our family loves this recipe. It’s a comfort food that in the summer months uses almost all the ingredients from our garden and farm! My favourite kind of meal! You can substitute the veg for anything you have in your fridge and have a glass of red wine while you cook, because you opened the bottle anyways! I do not recommend putting the pie in the oven and running out to check goats. Because no doubt you’ll get caught up in something and burn dinner. Just a little, BUT I threw some sunflower micro greens on top, and it still tasted great!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup pearl barley
- 2 1/2 cups good beef broth
- 3 tbsp of sunflower oil
- 5 oz lean bacon
- 1 large onion
- 3 large carrots
- 2 large celery stalks, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 lbs of ground beef or pork
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp English mustard
- 1/2 cup red wine
- salt and pepper
For the potato topping:
- 5 tbsp butter
- 5 tbsp of sour cream
- 5-7 potatoes



- Put the pearl barley, broth, and 1/ tsp of salt into a small pan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan, add the bacon, and fry briskly until golden brown. Add the chopped onion, cover, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery or any veggie you have ( I threw in sunflower micro greens, peas are good too!), garlic, cover, and cook for another 5 or so minutes until the veggies are soft.
- Add the ground beef and cook on high, cook for 4 minutes breaking up the meat as it browns. Add thyme, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, mustard, wine, cooked pearl barley and broth and simmer for 25 minutes until the liquid has reduced and mixture has thickened. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pot of salted water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain, then return to the pan to mash until smooth. Stir in the butter, sour cream and salt and pepper.
- Spoon the beef mixture into a oven safe dish or cook right in your cast iron pan. Spoon the mash over the top, spread out evenly. Bake for 35 minutes until bubbling hot and golden brown.
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