French Onion Soup

This week I have decided to try making French Onion Soup! I am using a soup mix and recipe from a company named "Frontier Soups". I also changed up the recipe, making the soup a little more hearty and filling. Here is the recipe that I used (I changed the original up a little bit).

Recipe:

3 Tbsp butter

1 Very large sweet onion

4 Cups canned beef broth

2 Large potatoes

1 to 2 lb beef stew meat (I used ground beef, which worked just fine)

8 oz. Shredded cheese

4-6 Slices of French Bread (I used cornbread instead, because I didn't want to go to the store)

Instructions:

1. Peel the onion and cut into quarters, then cross cut quarters to make semi-circle slices. (Just cut it up, its not really going to matter how.)

2. In a 4 quart pot, melt butter and saute onions for about 10 minutes. Add sugar if you want to carmalize the onions (I added sugar).

3. After about 10 minutes, add in your stew meat and saute it with the onions. Let the mixture saute for about 20 minutes or until meat is browned and onions are a golden brown color.

4. Add in Fronteir Soups: Chicago Bistro French Onion Soup Mix and 4 cups of canned beef broth.

5. Stir for 30 seconds, bring to a boil.

6. Cover, reduce to simmer. Add in 2 potatoes (chopped) and let simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

7. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with shredded cheese. Serve with French bread.

This would also be fairly simple to do from scratch. The soup mix contains: black beluga lentils, onion, carrots, scallions, and various spices and herbs.

Here are the pictures...

This is the soup mix I used.

Sauteeing the onions and beef.

Everything mixed together, simmering.

The final product!

The Results:

The soup was very good! I added a little garlic salt and pepper while it was still simmering and I think that added to the flavor. The soup mix used had a very good flavor. The soup was hearty enough for a great winter dinner.
I gave the soup a 9. I really liked the flavor. However, it defintely would have been better with french bread rather than cornbread. A good slice of country cornbread just didn't complement the flavors of the soup!

Dillon gave the soup an 8.5. He liked the soup, but it was a one time thing for him. No leftovers the next day.
I didn't let the dog have a taste because I was afraid all of the onion would make him sick! He did like the smell though.

Overall, this was a good, cheap meal. Give it a try!