Fabulous French Onion & Mushroom Soup

**French Onion & Mushroom Soup **

-6 Tbsp Butter (3/4 stick), divided
-6 oz French bread, sliced into 16 (1/2") slices
-8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
-5 large sweet onions
-3 garlic cloves, pressed
-1 Tbsp sugar
-1 Cup dry red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon)
-3 Tbsp flour
-8 Cups unsalted beef stock
-2 tsp salt
-1 tsp ground black pepper
-3 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1 Tbsp leaves
-6 Oz Gruyere cheese, shredded (1-1/2 Cups)

Directions
1. Melt 1 Tbsp of the butter in Dutch Oven over medium heat. Toast bread 1-2 minutes per side or until light golden brown; remove bread; set aside.

2. Add 1 Tbsp of the butter and mushrooms to the Dutch Oven; cook, uncovered 8-9 minutes, or until mushrooms are deep golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove mushrooms.

3. Meanwhile, slice onions with Simple Slicer on #2 setting. Add remaining 4 Tbsp butter, onions, garlic and sugar to Dutch Oven, cook, uncovered 25-30 minutes or until onions are dark brown, stirring occasionally.

4. Add wine; cook, uncovered, 5-7 minutes or until liquid is no longer visible, but onions are still moist. Stir in flour, cook 1 minute. Stir in stock, salt, pepper, and mushrooms. Insert thyme springs into Herb Infuser, add to soup. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, covered, 8-10 minutes or until soup comes to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and remove Herb Infuser.

5. Preheat broiler. Arrange toasted bread over soup; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Place Dutch Oven 2-4 inches from the heating element; broil 2-4 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven; sprinkle with thyme leaves.

~This recipe comes with the RockCrok, which is why there is not a recipe link.  If you would like the traditional Pampered Chef French Onion soup, the recipe is  HERE - (French Onion Soup). ~

Yes, that is a BACON hand towel on my oven door :)

I will say that this recipe took me almost 90 minutes from start to finish, but it was truly an act of love.  I enjoyed every moment of preparing and eating this dish!  To start, I opened my bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, poured myself half a glass and let the bottle continue to breath as I prepared my vegetables.  I also made myself a little snack, using balsamic vinegar, olive oil and Pampered Chef garlic/Parmesan seasoning and the end of the loaf of bread :)

Treat yourself like a Pampered Chef and enjoy the experience!

Melt your tablespoon of butter on medium heat in your pan and toast your slices of bread (2 mins on each side)  Covering the bottom of the pan to toast your bread will make sure you aren't wasting bread that won't fit on top in the end.  When toasted, set aside on a plate.

Add another tablespoon of butter and your mushrooms to the pan. 

Cook uncovered for about 8 mins. until golden brown.

 

Slice your onions and garlic as your mushrooms are cooking down, stir them occasionally.

When mushrooms are done, remove them and place in a bowl to the side.

 Add the rest of your butter, garlic, onions and sugar to the pan.

Cook for 30 minutes or until the onions are dark brown or cooked to your liking. 

I prefer my onions to still have a fleshy texture.

Start

Finish

 Add wine and cook down, add flour and cook for 1 minute,

 then add your stock (veggie if you prefer) and mushrooms.

Wine added

Stock and all other ingredients ready...we have soup!

Pre-Heat your broiler.  

Top the soup with your toasted bread, sprinkle with shredded cheese ( I used mozzarella)

Broil for 2 minutes until cheese is bubbly and delicious!

And SHAZAM!  Amazing French Onion and Mushroom Soup!

Happy Pampered Chef!

Great for our cold South Dakota day!

I feel like this recipe definitely earned me kitchen goddess experience points! 

 ~ Happy Husband Approved ~