French Onion Soup - Houlihan's style

Sodahl "french onion soup bake off" is here!!  We ate at Houlihan's last week - and of course got their yummy french onion soup.  Ross and I used to be obsessed with trying new restaurants in the search for the perfect french onion!!  Grandmas in Duluth had a close first - and now that we have tried Houlihan's that might be the best...we had a discussion that night about trying to make our own - so here we are!!

I found some recipes for french onion soup - so we decided to try 2 different recipes and declare a winner!  I modified a bunch of different recipes I found to make this one as close to the Houli's recipe as I could.....AND.......it was GREAT!!  We didn't have much broth - so not sure if when I cut the ingredients in half it all boiled out - but Ross didn't have much besides the onion / absorbed bread / cheese!  This was really close and actually really good!!  Who needs to go to the restaurant anymore - save the money and make it ourselves!!  So good!!

Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 cups onions, thinly sliced
4 cups beef broth
1/4 cup butter
6 slices Provolone cheese
6 slices toasted French bread (I actually used basic rolls I had....)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper

Saute the onions in the butter until they are tender, then add the wine, sugar, beef broth and Worcestershire sauce.

Add some salt and pepper - bring soup to a boil and then turn the heat down and cook over a moderate heat for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 - ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls (these are my rents - aren't they cute!!  They worked perfect) and add a slice of toasted bread to each.

Put one slice of cheese over each piece of toast and bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling.

French Onion Soup

Round 2!! I didn't think this was as good as the French Onion Soup - Houlihan's style  - BUT it was super tasty still.  It just tasted a little bit more "winey" - and that's probably because there is wine involved :)  I really liked the taste of this - but if you are going for the "best" / Houl's style - then the other soup was right on.

I think next time I'll do a combo of the two: more broth in the first one, use bay leaves / thyme sprigs, and try the Gruyere cheese instead of the Provolone.  AND buy some french onion soup bowls :)  Thanks rents for letting me borrow!!  They worked great!!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup red wine

3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 quarts beef broth

1 baguette, sliced

1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Little part of Heaven Sandwich

We are having a Sodahl "French Onion Soup bake off" today....so I wanted something easy, new, and tasty to go with the French Onion Soup - Houlihan's style - so here is this heavenly sandwich!!  It was really good - and different enough that I had to post it!  It has so many great veggies - it made me feel healthy :)

6 Sisters blog

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Ciabatta bread (rolls)
Swiss Cheese (or any kind of cheese you want)
Ham or Turkey
an Egg (egg whites)
Avocado
Tomato
Spinach (I used basil since I had that leftover from yesterday....awesome!)
red onion
little bit of mayo (miracle whip is what I use)
honey Mustard

First preheat oven to broil. Then take a small pan frying pan on the stove and heat it to high. Once the pan is hot take your raw egg and get the yolk out. Then cook egg in the pan so it is small enough to fit on sandwich. While it is cooking,  put cheese on bread and broil it on a cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Any longer and the edges burn.

Then just start putting the sandwich together!

Orzo Salad

Man - I'm a cooking machine this week.  I think it's because Ross is going to be out of town for work, so I'm trying to get all my new recipes in :)  We had a busy day today "Decking the Sodahl halls" - so I'm so glad I had this on the menu.  Super easy - and super awesome meal!!  We just made this up with some hash brown potatoes and steak!! 

Giada Family Dinners: 6 servings

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo (Italian pasta....looks like rice though)
15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups mixed red/yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette
salt and pepper

Bring the broth to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat.  Stir in the orzo.  Cover partially and cook, stirring frequently, until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, about 7 minutes.  Drain the orzo through a strainer.  Transfer the orzo to a large, wide bowl and toss until the orzo cools slightly.  Set aside to cool completely.

Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough dressing to coat.  Season with salad with salt and pepper - and serve at room temp.

Red Wine Vinaigrette

Had this with the Orzo Salad - super good!!  I made a little extra cause I wasn't sure how much the salad was going to take - so if I eat this with anything else, I'll post :)

Giada Family Dinner: makes 1 3/4 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper in a blender.  With the maching running gradually blend in the oil.  Season the dressing to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

Masters are coming over tonight for some dindin tonight - so Miss Meghan brought over the Garlic Artichoke Dip - and I made up this mean dip, fries and Dressed Up Sloppy Joes !!  Dip is super yummy!!  Ross and I had it again with Saturday nights dinner with some hashbrowns - worked great!!

My recipes.com

Ingredients:
2.1-oz package fully cooked bacon slices
16-oz container sour cream
2 cups (8 oz.) freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 1/3 cup sliced fresh chives

2 teaspoons hot sauce

Garnishes: cooked, crumbled bacon; sliced fresh chives; freshly cracked pepper

Serve with: waffle fries

Microwave bacon according to package directions until crisp; drain on paper towels. Cool 10 minutes; crumble. Stir together bacon and next 4 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours before serving. Garnish, if desired. Serve with crispy, warm waffle fries. Store leftovers in refrigerator up to 7 days.

Dressed Up Sloppy Joes

We have tried a couple different sloppy joe recipes - and this was really good, but it was sweet!!  It was very "sloppy" - but made eating it so much more tastier.....haha.  I LOVED all the different options of making this meal up too - it was BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING day today, so crock pot = best invention ever!!  It was ready to go when we got home - and then just kept it warm till the Sodahls / Masters were ready to eat!!  Perfection :)

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 l. lean ground beef

Seasoning salt to taste

1 medium onion, minced

1/2 green pepper, minced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

3/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon mustard

3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/3-1/2 cup water to reach desired consistency

Freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 hamburger buns

 

Stovetop Instructions:

Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Add in mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Combine tomato paste and water and add to hamburger mixture. Add more water if desired. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns.

 

Crockpot Instructions:

Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Transfer to slow cooker. Add in remaining ingredients and combine well. Cook on low for 3-4 hours and serve on hamburger buns.

 

Freezer Instructions:

Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Add in remaining ingredients and combine well. Freeze. When ready to cook, transfer to a slow cooker and cook on low to 3-5 hours. Serve on hamburger buns.