French Onion Soup

My grandma and mom always seemed to get french onion soup when we would go out to eat in the winter time. For the longest time I didn't want to try it because it was brown, and looked kind of gross, and I knew it had a lot of onions in it (which I thought I didn't like).

Now that I'm older, I've tried this soup at restaurants and love it! I put onions (especially cooked ones) in almost everything where it makes sense. I love cheese. I love bread. I love warm soups! I was so excited when I found this recipe! It had great flavor to it, and would be great as a side to steak or chicken for dinner.

I don't have oven safe bowls, so I just put the soup with bread and cheese in the microwave for about a minute to melt the cheese. It's not quite the same as broiling it, which is why I'm keeping the recipe that says that. But it's still delicious!

French Onion Soup-Adapted from Cooking Light's "Comfort Food"

Total Time: 2 and 1/2 hours

Serves 8

• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 4 cups thinly vertically sliced sweet onion 
• 4 cups thinly vertically sliced red onion 
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup dry white wine 
• 8 cups less-sodium beef broth 
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme 
• 8 (1-ounce) slices French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes 
• 8 (1-ounce) slices reduced-fat, reduced-sodium Swiss cheese

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high, and sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is golden brown. Stir in wine, and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours.

**If you have oven safe bowls follow directions below. If not, add the bread and cheese and pop in the microwave for about 1 minute**

Preheat broiler. Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute. Place 8 ovenproof bowls on a jelly-roll pan. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Divide bread evenly among bowls; top each serving with 1 cheese slice. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.