French Onion Soup-- Fast and Easy!!

I made this tonight. Even without the cheese toast, it's still delicious!

2 T butter or margarine

2 c thinly sliced onions

4 cups beef broth

2 T dry sherry (optional)

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1 pinch black pepper

4-6 slices French bread, toasted

1 cup shredded Gruyere, Jarlsberg, or Swiss Cheese

In a large saucepan melt butter and stir in the onions. Cook and stir until the onions are golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Onions must be browned. Don't skimp. You need that caramelization. Add broth, sherry, Worcestershire, and pepper. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer 10 minutes.

Optional for non-ops: Sprinkle freshly-toasted bread with cheese. Place under broiler until cheese melts and turns light brown. Float bread on top of soup in the bowl.

Makes 4-6 side dish servings.

Hints and tips:

1. Use your food processor and slice up those onions. In fact, save time and do the whole bag of onions. Measure out your 2 cups for this recipe and freeze the rest in a well-labeled zip-top bag or three.  Freeze the bags flat so you can easily break off what you need later.
2. Because this recipe is set up for 4-6 side dish sized servings, you may wish to double this recipe if you have a lot of hearty appetites. When my onion-loving husband was alive, doubling was a necessity!

Lee Plumb, NCICS