Anne McAlpine – January 3, 2019

I found this recipe for crockpot French onion soup in an old Woman’s Day magazine.  The original recipe made 8 servings, so I halved it and it still made lots. I froze one portion, without the bread and cheese, and enjoyed it later. Just thaw, add the bread and cheese, and toast in the oven or under the broiler. It is loaded with caramelized onions and nicely spiced. In place of the Emmental cheese I used some old cheddar along with the Gruyere and parmesan.  If you don’t have dry bread, simply put some into a 300-degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes and it will dry nicely.

I had a request for a good turkey stew using leftover turkey. This recipe is from a Turkey Farmers of Ontario booklet.  It contains lots of vegetables and has great flavour.  When I made it, I did use the white wine as suggested, but you could omit that and just add 2 more cups of broth.  I find that most stew recipes call for potatoes to be added but this one has parsnips instead of potatoes and I particularly liked the flavour they added. You could substitute 2 potatoes for the parsnips, though.  If you are making this with frozen turkey, thaw it before coating it with the flour.  The recipe suggests serving this stew in a bread bowl but you could use a regular glass bowl and serve a buttered crusty or smaller Kaiser roll on the side.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup 

1 ½ Tbsp. butter

2 large onions

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 container beef broth (4 cups)

½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

⅓ cup white wine

½ tsp. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

4 slices dry French bread

¼ cup Gruyere cheese, shredded

½ cup Emmental or old cheddar cheese, shredded

4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Peel and thinly slice the onions. In a large skillet, melt butter then add the onions and brown sugar.  Cook over medium to low heat until they are caramelized – about 15 to 20 minutes. Once they are golden, put them in the slow cooker.  Add the remaining ingredients, except for the bread and cheeses. Cook on low for 5 to 6 ½ hours. Remove the bay leaf and ladle the soup into oven proof bowls.  Add a slice of bread and then sprinkle the cheeses over the top.  Broil for 1 or 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.