This homemade french onion soup recipe is worth it's weight in gold. This is my hands-down favorite homemade soup recipe. Offering many easy soup recipes and much more. You don't want to miss it.
The following is my best French onion soup recipe. Beautiful rich broth. You may use shredded Swiss cheese too.
EASY FRENCH ONION SOUP
8 cups water 1 TBS + Better Than Bouillon Beef Base 2 large super sweet onions, sliced 1/2 cup butter 2/3 cup flour 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded homemade croutons, recipe below
In a stock pot, add the onions, water and beef base. If one tablespoon of beef base is not strong enough, please feel free to add more.
Bring to a boil and simmer until onions are tender. Remove onions with a slotted spoon and turn up the heat to medium-high to get the broth really hot. Place the onions in a heavy skillet with butter and caramelize them.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for 1 minute and slowly add to the hot broth. Whisk until it begins to thicken. Add the Worcestershire sauce, onions, garlic powder, onion powder, and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
PREHEAT broiler to high and you will need a baking sheet to place the bowls of soup on.
Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with croutons and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with vegetable oil.
Place bread cubes on cookie sheet for approximately 15 minutes or until cubes are dried. Melt butter in skillet and add the dried bread cubes. Toss well to coat and cook on low heat until they are crisp.
TIPS TO Make PERFECT Chocolate Covered Strawberries
SECRET #1 There are many way to prepare these strawberries, but I am going to give you my easy methods. When you are melting the chocolate over a double boiler, don't let the water touch the bottom of your upper pan. Heat until only 1/2 of the chocolate is melted, then remove from heat and stir gently until it is all melted.
The chocolate should actually be cool or tepid to the touch. If it's hot, chances are it will seize up and thicken. If it does that, no amount of heating or stirring will fix it.
If you don't have a double-boiler, use a saucepan - bring the water to a boil, and then use a stainless steel bowl to rest in the saucepan to melt the chocolate.
SECRET #2 Strawberries are grown with many pesticides, so rinse the strawberries first with a veggie wash, and let them drain on paper towels until they were thoroughly dry so the chocolate would adhere properly. Any moisture would have interfered with the chocolate adhering.
SECRET #3 Spike the strawberries! Fill a syringe with a sweet white dessert wine, and slowly inject the wine into the strawberries from near the stem (after you've done the dipping in chocolate.) You want to inject enough wine to saturate the berries, but watch not to add too much otherwise they end up becoming runny. These are always a hit when I bring them to dinner parties.
SECRET #4 Pierce the strawberries on the stem side with a toothpick. Holding the strawberry by the toothpick, dip into the chocolate mixture. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into Styrofoam for the chocolate to cool.
A delicious twist on my favorite red velvet cake recipe. Yum.
HOMEMADE RED VELVET CHEESECAKE RECIPE
Ingredients
CRUST: 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup butter, melted 1-1/2 TBS white sugar shaved chocolate bar
CHEESECAKE: 3 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened 1-1/2 cups white sugar 4 eggs, beaten 3 TBS cocoa, unsweetened 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup buttermilk* 1 TBS pure vanilla extract 1 tsp white vinegar 2 (1oz) bottles of red food coloring
TOPPING: 3 oz cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted 2 tsp pure vanilla extract shaved chocolate bar, for garnish
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees. The cake is baked with a water bath to prevent cracking. Wrap a large pan with foil (big enough for the spring form pan to fit in).
Mix the graham crackers and sugar together and add the melted butter. Mix with a fork and press into a 9 inch spring form pan. Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with chocolate shavings from a candy bar.
Beat 3 packages of cream cheese with 1-1/2 cups white sugar until fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into the prepared spring form pan and place in the center of the foil covered pan. Fill with water.
Bake for 10 minutes and lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 70-80 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the center is firm. Cool completely on a wire rack.
TOPPING: Beat the cream cheese with the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly over the top of the cooled cheesecake. Garnish with the shaved chocolate bar.
*Buttermilk: Place 1-1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice in 1/2 measuring cup and fill remainder with milk. Wait 15 minutes, stir, and it's ready for this recipe.