Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

I enjoyed participating in the last recipe swap, so I decided to play another round.  The new theme was Soup & Stew and I was given this recipe for French Onion Soup from Christen at Cooking with Christen. Aaron really loves French Onion Soup and I have never made it, so this was a perfect swap for us.

I decided to make half this recipe so we could have 4 servings instead of 8.  I used 2 onions and low sodium broth. I followed the recommendations of several reviews to carmelize the onions before putting them in the crockpot, and to cook it longer.  I added a bit of red cooking wine and worcestershire sauce as well.  Instead of making this in the morning before work, I put it all together before going to bed and let it cook on low for about 20 hours total.

For the next 20 hours I lost my excitement for this meal.  I used sweet onions and our house had an overwhelming onion smell as it cooked - so much that we had to open doors and windows (sorry neighbors!).  The taste was fantastic, though. I used fontina cheese on the bread and put it under the broiler to melt and brown.  The onions were soft and buttery, but I still thought it was still too salty overall.  Next time I would try and find low-sodium beef consumme in addition to low-sodium broth. Otherwise, this is a great and easy recipe. Thanks for sharing Christen!

View the full round-up at A Taste of Home Cooking.

Source: Sandra Lee

Ingredients:

• 5 small onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cans (14 ounces) low sodium beef broth (recommended: Swanson's)
• 2 cans (10 ounces) beef consomme (recommended: Campbell's)
• 1 packet onion soup mix (recommended: Lipton's)
• 8 slices French bread, about 1 inch thick
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere

Directions:

Combine onions, broth, consomme, and soup mix in a slow cooker. Cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours, or LOW setting for 8 hours.

Ladle soup into serving bowls. Top with a slice of French bread. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over each bread slice. Put soup bowls under broiler until cheese is melted. Alternatively, place the bread on a baking sheet and top with cheese; broil until cheese has melted, about 30 to 40 seconds, and set on top just before serving.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DeliciousMeliscious/~3/cgqLI5wqcFM/slow-cooker-french-onion-soup.html

cnn bbc ash cloud