french onion soup

I have finally remembered to get my moms recipe for Jen.... only took like 6 months..... The soup is best if made the day before, and we always make our own croutons to float in it with provolone cheese.

French Onion Soup

* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
* 6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (Make sure you get Yellow)
* Table salt
* 2 cups water, plus extra for deglazing
* 1/2 cup dry sherry
* 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
* 2 cups beef broth
* 6 sprigs fresh thyme
* 1 bay leaf
* Ground black pepper


1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Generously spray the inside of a heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with a nonstick cooking spray. Place the butter in the pot and add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, for 1 hour (the onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove the pot from the oven and stir the onions, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. Return the pot to the oven with the lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until the onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring the onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.
3. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until the liquid evaporates and the onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing the heat to medium if the onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the pot bottom is coated with a dark crust, roughly 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.)
4. Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping the pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in the sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until the sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the broths, 2 cups of water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot.
6. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

Little Update...

Ok one no purl monkey is done and sitting on my sock blocker yay go me. It's mate is on the needles and I am working on the heel flap currently. The pattern is still clickin' along pretty well. I have no complaints. I have also been knitting on my plain jane sock for my mom, about to kitchner the toe on the first one. And I knit a dish cloth in there too. Just to get things changed up a bit.

In other news, tomorrow I start the H&R Block Tax class, for the next 7 weeks Monday and Thursday mornings are booked in my world. All over the web site it says that you are not promised a job at the end. But from what I was told from a friend and the manager of the branch where I am taking it, if you pass the class they will find room for you. Tax season falls during the time of year that if Jack is off he will be, so it will either be a help out... or I will be "working for the mac fund". Either way I am happy to do it.

And for no other reason then for me to get this saved in cyber space i am going to share the recipe for tortilla roll ups with you all.

Tortilla Roll ups

1/2 Cup chopped green onion
8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1 Cup Sour cream
8 ounces Shredded Co-jack cheese
1 Can Diced Green Chilies
1 Can Diced Black Olives
garlic powder
season salt
cumin
1 Package burrito size flour tortillas (or any flavor you like)

Drain chilies and olives. Mix together everything with hand mixer, adding garlic powder, season salt and cumin to your taste preferences. Once good and mixed spread onto the tortillas and roll up. Wrap tortillas in plastic wrap and place in fridge over night.
Take out slice into about quarter inch slices and enjoy.

in the past i have also added avocado to the mixture. But only when it is going to be for my family, it turns brown and well isn't very pretty, but uber yummy! Just doesn't look good on a potluck table.

And now i shall leave you with a pic of the happiest baby in the world!