Recipe: French Onion Soup

I love French onion soup.  It is so warming and comforting on a cold day and it has a pretty presentation too so it's even suitable for company.

Cheap & Lazy French Onion Soup
Non-stick spray
2 big brown onions, roughly chopped
3 Tb. butter
2 beef boullion cubes
6 cups hot water, divided
Salt & Pepper
Rothbury Farms Cheese & Garlic Croutons
Shredded (or shaved) parmesan cheese

1.  Spray crock-pot with non-stick spray and set aside.
2.  Add butter and onions to a standard skillet - you do not want to use a non-stick pan.
3.  Cook on medium-high heat, stirring somewhat frequently. It's okay if the onions begin to brown and it's good if you can see that the pan is getting little browned bits stuck to the bottom.
4.  Cook until onions are golden-brown and very soft.
5.  Pour onions, boullion cubes, 5 cups of hot water in crock-pot.
6.  Pour the remaining cup of hot water in skillet and turn heat to high. Using a metal spatula, begin to scrape up all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
7.  Empty the skillet into the crock-pot and add salt & pepper to taste.
8.  Cover crock-pot and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.

* * *

9.  About ten minutes before mealtime, set oven to broil.

10.  Ladle soup into oven-safe serving bowls, top with croutons & a hefty sprinkle of cheese.
11.  Set bowls on a baking sheet and broil for a couple of minutes until cheese is bubbly. Be sure to keep a close watch on the soup because things burn fast under the broiler!
12.  Remove carefully (bowls will be very hot) and serve with caution- the soup will be like lava for several minutes.

Note - I usually double this recipe because I don't have a small crock-pot and we usually eat the leftovers for lunch and/or dinner the following day. I specified the type of croutons because they add a particularly nice taste to the soup, much better than just plain toasted baguette. I know that french onion soup typically calls for gruyere (perhaps swiss), but I never have any on hand and parm seems to work well.