Garlic Onion Soup

French Onion soup used to be one of my favorites, but more and more often when I get it at a restaurant, it has little to no flavor.  I even had it once at a popular restaurant with a hair baked into my cheese.  Blech!  There used to be an Italian restaurant in Bloomington that had AMAZING garlic bread and a great onion soup.  Unfortunately, it closed :(  So I have been working on my own onion soup recipe ever since.  I have no idea what that soup tasted like anymore, but I think this recipe will keep me happy.  Can be eaten right away, but soup, like salsa, is always better the second day. Hope you enjoy!

Garlic Onion Soup
makes 5-6 cups

3 medium white onions, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup unsalted butter or olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves finely minced or grated
32 oz Swanson beef broth
2 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2-1 tsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning


Garlic cheese bread (optional, but great for dipping)

Slice onions.  Melt butter or heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Stir in onions, coating in butter or oil and put the lid on.  Cook until the onions are soft and clear, stirring occasionally to make sure they do not burn.  Add the garlic and stir, making sure that the garlic doesn't get to brown or it will taste burnt.  Pour in the beef broth and water.  Add in 2 bouillon cubes, Italian seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Add in 1/2 tsp of Tony Chachere's seasoning and taste.  Add additional if necessary.  I like it a little spicy, so I add a lot.  You can additional salt and pepper to taste.

I like to make a basic garlic cheese bread out of french bread, olive oil, garlic salt and mozzarella, baked in the oven until toasty and melty :)

To reduce the sodium, use 6 cups of low sodium broth instead of the 4 cups broth, water and bouillon. 

Also, Tony Chachere's makes a salt free version of their famous Creole seasoning.  I love their original Creole seasoning and use it frequently.  It's like a spicy seasoning salt and it is fairly cheep.