Canless Cream of Onion Soup

There is nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of steaming cream soup.  As with most things in life, homemade is way better than canned.  So, when the pantry is low on stock, and the weather is too blustery for going to the store, this is a great choice for lifting your spirits and warming your body and heart.

This needs a medium or large slow cooker.

This recipe calls for chicken stock, but if you don't have any, I am including a small side note in the instructions that will be a good way to substitute the chicken stock.  If you do have chicken broth, do not add the chicken, and you won't need to cook the onion as long.

You will need:

2 large onions
2 Tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken broth (OR, 4 cups water and 1-2 lbs chicken)
black pepper
salt
2 cups whole milk, half-and-half, OR 1 cup skim milk and 1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup flour

turn Slow-Cooker on HIGH, and drop 2 Tablespoons of butter into the crock pot.  Finely chop onions(the more finely chopped, the better the end result), and add to butter.  Stir the onions until soft and brown.  Add the 4 cups of chicken stock, (OR the 4 cups of water and chicken).  Add salt and pepper, if desired.  Turn slow cooker on LOW and cook for at 6-8 hours.

After the chicken has cooked through, and the liquid in the pot is the rich color of broth, pull out the chicken pieces, keeping the onions in the slow cooker.  In a bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour with 1 cup of the milk, whisk until smooth.  Turn the slow cooker on HIGH once more, and pour the milk and flour mixture slowly into the cooker while stirring constantly.  Allow to cook, with the lid off, and stirring frequently about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens.  Add the rest of the milk or cream and just heat through, do not boil.

Serves 6

Slowcooking is for Togetherness! Two Fondue recipes for one great night!

Tonight, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to make Butterscotch Fondue, or Chocolate Marshmallow Fondue.  One of my friends suggested making both, and since I have two slowcookers, I am going to take her suggestion and make both for tonight's Family Night.  The Butterscotch Fondue can also be drizzled over some Kettlecorn Popcorn, which is available in microwaveable bags.

Butterscotch Fondue:
In a 2-quart slowcooker:
Ingredients:

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

And any sort of food you want to dip into the pot, such as: apple wedges, strawberries, cookies, or brownies.


Directions:
stir together the condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, cornsyrup, and vanilla.  Cover and cook on LOW 1-2 hours.  Whisk in 1/4 cup milk until smooth.  Serve immediately after adding the milk.



Chocolate Marshmallow Fondue:
In a 3-4 qt slowcooker
Ingredients:

15 oz milk chocolate candy bar, chopped
1 10-oz package of mini marshmallows (large can be substituted, if desired)
1/2 cup half-and-half or light cream

And whatever you want to dip in the chocolate, such as: graham crackers, large marshmallows, strawberries, etc.

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together in slowcooker, cover and cook on LOW 1-2 hours, stirring once halfway through.  At the end of cooking time, whisk well until smooth and serve immediately.

Tonight, for my family, we are having a "camp-in" in our living room, in which the whole family makes up beds of sleeping bags, blankets and pillows on the living room floor and we enjoy movies, stories, and homemade treats by lanternlight.  Fondue is a great way to make Family Night even easier and more fun!  All you need is a slowcooker (or two), some skewers, and some treats to dip in the pot.  Let Family Night begin!