French Onion Soup!

We had brutally cold weather this week so I had to reach into the cupboards for some comfort food ingredients. Actually I had just been to Appleby's the night before and had my "dining out go-to food", small caesar salad and a crock of French Onion Soup. The soup wasn't too bad...I've had worse... but mine is much better. So here is how I made it. Anyone following a weight watcher's plan should love this soup, I doubt it has 5 points per serving.

Quick Soup for Two

4 large onions, sliced
Tablespoon of oil to carmelize the onions
2 large chicken bouillon cubes, or 5 cups chicken stock and skip the water item
5 cups of water
2 cans beef consomme
1/4th cup of red wine
2 slices of whole grain bread that is trimmed but a little larger than your crock.
Mozzarella cheese for the top of the bread

Just carmelize the onions in oil in a pan that is big enough to hold the other contents. After the onions are tan, add the bouillon and water. Let this simmer for about a half hour to reduce down. Add the consomme and wine, keep simmering while you trim the bread. Get your crocks ready, and trim the bread slightly larger than the top of the crocks. Fill the crocks with hot soup and lay the bread on top, making a slight depression in the middle. Put a couple of tablespoons or a slice of mozzarella on the bread and broil in the oven for a minute to melt the cheese and toast the bread. Be careful not to burn it. I love my small counter top oven for this task.

When Alton Brown makes his onion soup, he adds cider to it to give it a sweeter taste, but we have more savory palates and I don't need the carbs from the cider. This soup can also be baked, we usually just do it on top of the stove.

This week my sister sent me some jalapeno spices in a little baggie. We put it on porkchops and practically licked the plates after dinner. I just put some garlic on porkchops and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours, then dipped them in egg, and rolled them in jalapeno spice and panko. I sprayed the oven pan with Pam and roasted them for an hour. When I asked her where she got them, she said the Old Mesilla Valley Chili Co. so here's their website.  http://www.oldmesillachile.net/recipes.htm

Happy Cooking everyone!!