Creamy Onion Soup

With the weather forecast for today and tomorrow being 5-10 inches of snow, they always lie, I'm not taking any changes. I have chili, veggie soup and Hearty Turkey Noodle Soup, in the freezer. I made U.S.Senate Bean Soup yesterday and I'm making Creamy Onion Soup today.

I know that sounds like a lot, but you have to remember I have family that live close by that never plan for anything. I also worry about my older neighbors that live alone. Louise (90) might need a hot bowl of soup after she finishes shoveling her drive way. I'm not kidding.

This is sure to make it into your regular soup rotation. Because of the milk this is not a soup to freeze.

I originally got a recipe like this as a copy cat for Outback Steak House's Creamy Walkabout soup. This is so much better and involves no canned soup. I word of caution; do not try to make this without the bay leaves. Boring.

Creamy Onion Soup
Yield: 4 servings

White Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk

Soup
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups sweet yellow onions (thinly sliced)
1 (15-ounce can chicken broth or stock (homemade or canned)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup diced Velveeta cheese, cubes (compressed in a measuring cup)
1 1/2-1 3/4 cups white sauce you just made (put it all in)
4 bay leaves (more or less if you like) do not omit
Shredded cheddar cheese or Monterrey jack or Colby cheese, for garnish

For the White Sauce: In a 1-quart saucepan melt butter and add flour, cook on medium heat until the flour turns thick and comes away from the side of the saucepan. Pour milk in flour a little at a time and stir constantly. Stir, stir, stir no lumps please. Mixture should thicken and become like thick pudding. Set aside off the heat until ready to use.

In a 2 quart saucepan place 3 tablespoons butter and sliced onions. Cook at low to medium heat stirring frequently until soft and clear but not brown. Add chicken broth or stock from can, chicken bouillon cubes, bay leaves, pepper, and stir until completely heated through.

Add white sauce and Velveeta cheese to onion mixture. White sauce will be thick because it has been removed from heat. Simmer on medium low until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are blended, stirring constantly. Turn temperature to warm and let cook for additional 30-45 minutes

Serve with a garnish of shredded cheese and run by your nearest Outback and get some of that wonderful dark Russian Bread because I haven't found a recipe yet that I like for the bread.

COOK'S NOTE: If you double the recipe, I always do, double everything except the bay leaves 4 or 5 bay leaves are fine for a double batch.