Beef Barley Stew with Pumpkin Cornbread

This is a perfect meal for any weeknight!  Add to it that the temperatures have stayed in the 50's today!  What better to warm the heart and soul than a big bowl of stew and cornbread on the side!  The Beef Barley Stew cooked in the crockpot all day.  (Don't you just love a crockpot!)  The Pumpkin Cornbread made the house smell so yummy!  It was wonderful to walk in the door this evening to such pleasing aromas!
What a satisfying meal it was!  The stew was fabulous - not to mention full of vegetables.  I loved that my 2 year old ate TWO bowl fulls, all those good veggies making him stronger!  And the Pumpkin Cornbread was really good.  I was unsure how it was going to be - I typically think of Pumpkin as Pie.  But the cornbread had great texture, very much like a sweet Corn Muffin with a hint of Pumpkin taste to it.  Both dishes are a Winner!