Quick French Onion Soup

I made french onion soup the other day and it was so easy to make. No more going out to the Deli or restaurants to get this soup. You can make it at a fraction of the cost and also taste yummier. This is a great way to utilize all the onions you have sitting on your counter. All the main ingredients are only caramelized onions, beef stock, and cheese. This is yummy goodness and you can cut the sodium by using low sodium beef broth or making your own. I like to add some kick to the recipe and put in some roast poblano peppers diced up. This recipe takes like only 30-40 min. to make.

Quick French Onion Soup:
1-2 medium sized onions
2 cups low sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup swiss cheese
half a loaf of french bread cut into 1/2 in. slices
half of a roasted poblano pepper, diced (use more or less depending on how spicy you want)

1. In a medium saucepan melt butter on medium heat. Add onions. Cook the onions on medium heat for 15 minutes until they are caramelized. Stir in the flour.


2. Add the beef broth and and simmer until onions are soft and tender. Add the roasted poblano peppers. Simmer for 1-2 minutes so peppers can blend into the soup.


3. Preheat the broiler.
3. Ladle soup in a bowl. Top with the sliced bread then add the swiss cheese. Put in oven and broil until the cheese is melted.
4. Serve.

Finished Quick Onion Soup

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Homemade Moussaka

Since I got a good deal at my local market for eggplants, I wanted to make something new I have not tried to make before. I found a recipe for Eggplant Moussaka. Moussaka is a Greek style dish using eggplants—you can compare it to the Italian dish lasagna. Moussaka uses eggplants instead of Lasagna Noodles and a bechemel sauce instead of the ricotta filling and it can be made with ground beef (cheaper) or ground lamb. The version I did was an easier way of making moussaka and uses ground beef instead of ground lamb. It consist of a ground beef/eggplant filling on the bottom and a bechemel sauce on the top instead of layering the ground beef and eggplant slices. This recipe is easy to make for a potluck, a crowd, or to make and freeze so you have food for the week.

Finished eggplant moussaka dish

Side view of the eggplant moussaka
Bottom layer: ground beef/eggplant mixture; top layer: bechemel sauce

Eggplant Moussaka Recipe:
for the ground beef—
1 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. olive oil
1-2 lbs. eggplant cubed
1 cup diced onions
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
kosher salt and black pepper

Bechemel sauce—
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
pinch nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tbsp. parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. coat a casserole dish with oil.
2. cook ground beef in oil in skillet over medium high heat. break up big chunks. Drain fat, add eggplants, onions, garlic, oregano and cinnamon; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; season with salt and pepper.
3. make bechemel sauce

Bechemel sauce—
1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. whisk in flour; cook for 1 minute. add milk and bring to a boil. whisk until thickened.
2. remove from heat, add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and nutmeg.
3. whisk eggs in a bowl and add some of the hot milk mixture to the eggs; whisk egg/milk mix into the rest of the milk mixture.

Assemble—
1. layer the ground beef mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish; top with the bechemel sauce. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tbsp. of parmesan cheese. Bake until top is golden brown, 45-55 minutes.
2. cool Moussaka for 20 minutes before serving.