Mushroom & Bacon Casserole

Ingredients

• 4 cups beef stock unsalted (such as Swanson)
• 0.3 teaspoon pepper black
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves fresh chopped
• 6  garlic cloves minced
• 1 cup gruyère cheese shredded divided
• 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 2 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce 
• 0.3 cup madeira wine 
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 2 cups pearl barley uncooked
• 8 ounces shiitake mushroom caps sliced
• 10 ounce pkt spinach frozen dry thawed drained chopped
• 0.5 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves drained chopped
• 8 slices center-cut bacon chopped
• 3 cups water 

Equipment

• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• baking pan
• aluminum foil
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 37
2. Bring stock and 3 cups water to a simmer in a large saucepan (do not boil). Keep mixture warm.
3. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp.
4. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan; set bacon aside. Return pan to medium-high heat.
5. Add onion, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; saut 3 minutes or until tender.
6. Add mushrooms and salt; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in barley; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
7. Add Madeira; cook 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in 2 cups broth mixture; cook 4 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring frequently.
8. Add remaining broth mixture, 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 30 minutes total). Stir in 2 ounces Gruyre, tomatoes, soy sauce, pepper, spinach, and bacon.
9. Place barley mixture in a 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil coated with cooking spray.
10. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
11. Remove foil, and bake 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
12. Let stand 5 minutes.