French Onion Soup

We love french onion soup, but I always thought that it was a complicated, high calorie dish.  A few weeks ago, I came across a copy of the Weight Watchers version that is just 170 calories!   I added the croutons and cheese so my version is 303 calories according to caloriecounter.com. 

This soup was so easy to make, there was very little hands on time.  The largest chunk of time was pent slicing up all those onions!  :o) This recipe is great for a crowd or as multiple family meals since it serves 16.  I used pre-packaged croutons, but you could make GF croutons by cubing a loaf of GF French bread and then toasting it in a 400*F oven for 10-15 minutes.

French Onion Soup:

Ingredients: 

5 lbs onions, unpeeled

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

1 bay leaf

7 cups beef broth, divided

1 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup GF flour mx

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups croutons

16 slices provolone 

Directions:

Peel onions and slice 1/8 inch thick. Melt butter in a large stockpot. Add onions; cook, uncovered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Stir in pepper, salt, paprika and bay leaf; saute over low heat 10 minutes more, stirring frequently. Pour in 6 cups broth and wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil.  Dissolve flour in remaining 1 cup of broth and stir into boiling soup. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 2 hours.  If you want a brown colored soup, add kitchen bouquet.  I didn't mind the red color from the paprika so I didn't add any coloring.

When serving the soup, top with croutons and a slice of cheese. Heat under the broiler until cheese melts and bubbles, about 5 minutes.  Enjoy!