French Onion Soup

Soup season is here! This is a recipe I have tinkered with for awhile and think this is super easy and flavorful!

All you need is:
a stick of butter
4 or 5 Vidalia onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
some thyme
1 cup of red wine
3 tablespoons of flour
1.5 to 2 quarts of beef broth
Gruyere cheese
bread

First melt the butter. Then add chopped up onions, diced garlic, bay leaves, sprinkle some thyme with salt and pepper. Let caramelize for about 30 minutes.

Add one cup of red wine (wine you would drink) and boil for about 10 minutes until it is reduced. Remove bay leaves.

Then add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir (turn down the heat so it won't burn) so the onions dry up a little bit.

Lastly add 1.5 to 2 quarts of beef broth, I like Pacific beef broth, and let is simmer for 40 or so minutes, until it is the flavor and thickness you like!

Broil some cheese on some bread, place it on top of the soup, and add some shredded cheese into the soup! Sprinkle French's Original Onions on top!

 Melt butter, add sliced up onions, chopped up garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Add salt and pepper.

Cook until caramelized - it should take around 30 minutes. Don't let them burn!

Add one cup of red wine and boil until the onions become dry - maybe 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves.

Add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir to dry the onions a bit.

Simmer for around 40 minutes

Broil some bread with cheese on it to top and add some grated cheese to the soup. Top with French's onions.

Butternut Soup

This a recipe that I changed around a good deal taken from Martha Stewart Everyday Food - which is a great cookbook, it has A TON of recipes and most of them are super quick and simple.  It separates the recipes by season too which I love. 

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp of butter

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp crystallized ginger (or real ginger)

a sprinkling of ground ginger

a sprinkling of cinnamon

valencia orange peal (this comes as a spice McCormick)

2.5 lbs (or 40 oz) of peeled butternut squash cut into squares

4 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth if you want this to be vegetarian)

1/3 cup heavy cream

 

First, chop up the onion (doesn't have to be fine because this is going in the blender) and saute it in 3 tbsp of butter for about 2 minutes - until fragrant and translucent.  Then add chopped up garlic, chopped up crystallized ginger, and butternut squash.  Dust the top layer of the butternut squash with ground ginger, cinnamon, and my secret ingredient valencia orange peel spice, the dusting should cover the top (see picture above) stir occasionally and cook for about 8 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste.  Then add 4 cups of chicken broth and 1/3 cup heavy cream and bring to a boil.  Cook until the squash is soft.  Puree in a blender (I do it in two batches.)  This is HOT so make sure to hold the cover on the blender!  

Sometimes I tinker once this is blended and add a little more cream or broth, or butter, or spices, but with these measurements you should be all set.