Hearty French Onion Soup

This is my ultimate, most favorite, go-to comfort meal! If you already have some meat made, this is super quick. Otherwise, set aside approximately 45 minutes to prepare. Most importantly, be prepared to have a new favorite!

Like I said, this can be made with fresh beef or left over and literally any cut of beef. Throw in left over roast, brisket- even ground beef- or make your favorite cut of steak fresh for this. I've made this with left over Prime Rib and Tri-Tip, but usually cook up a couple of NY Strips in the cast iron for this. I've yet to try ground beef, but I know it would be delicious too!

Let's get started!

If you're cooking your beef fresh, get that started first. I season it simply with sea salt, black pepper and top it with some good butter- basically, cook your steak your favorite way!

Next, dice up two very large russet potatoes into small pieces. Throw those in an oven safe pan, or your favorite large cast iron, with some olive oil and get them cooked down.

While waiting on all of that, get a large yellow onion sliced up into long, thin strings. Once your potatoes start to soften, add your onions in with another tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder. Stir frequently on a low heat.

Now is about the time I would remove my steaks and allow them to cool down. Once cooled down, I slice thinly then cut into bite size pieces. Of course a taste test is required too!

Once your potatoes and onions are cooked to perfection, add a whole packet of Au Jus mix and 3 cups of water. Stir that really good and add in your beef. I let it simmer a bit and usually end up adding more garlic powder and salt, along with onion powder. Taste it and decide for yourself though! If you're feeling really hearty, add in 1/4 cup of heavy cream- I don't think you'll regret that :)

Cover your soup with shredded Mozzarella and Gouda. If you don't have Gouda, Mozzarella alone is still so tasty. Really, whatever you have on hand. I've tried Provolone, Monster and Parmesan also and none of them disappointed. Next, broil in your oven on high for about 5-8 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and once you see it browning and bubbling, it's ready!

Top with fresh Parmesan and Parsley if you like that fancy finish. I do recommend letting it cool down before digging in, but it is worth getting burned if you need to quickly do a taste test- it's that good!

I find this serves 4 comfortably, but you could stretch it to 6 if you serve a salad and bread with it- which I recommend!

I hope you enjoy!