This recipe was given to me my best friend. What I didn’t realize at the time was that this recipe had been in my house the entire time in one of my Paula Deen cookbooks. My memory of this soup is like any good recipe or meal for that matter. I was visiting Jen and Jerome as I usually did when I lived at home and we were having dinner with Vanessa. It was a great meal. . . Jerome drank an entire bottle of wine, we had great conversations, and we had cornbread with honey butter, what can be better? Well, since that evening I have been making this soup for Jim and my friend Cassie as they always request this meal from me. It’s a great comfort meal and you can literally add anything to it. I usually use turkey in place of ground beef, but I have also made it without which is equally just as good. Sometimes I add olives, black beans and chickpeas, I use whatever I have in my pantry. I promise you as long as you add the ranch and chili seasonings it will taste great no matter what you add in.

The original recipe is as follows:

• 2 pounds ground beef (I use Turkey)
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheese, for garnish
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.
2. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos

Fall has arrived and what better than a comforting warm crock of homemade soup? I love soup and Jim is getting there but there are only a handful that he loves. I searched high and low through my cookbook collection for a recipe that stood out, and in the end I went with Tyler Florence’s recipe for the ultimate french onion soup. This was one of the first recipes I have made from this cookbook since Jen and I went to his book signing over a year ago. I have to say that it was amazing. Jim arrived home from basketball practice and my friend Cassie came over and they were amazed that I made it from scratch. They both said it tasted like it came from a restaurant. . .but I had the receipt to show that I did actually make it. It’s a definite keeper and so easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 onions, sliced (I used 2 red, 2 sweet)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs (I used 4)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
• 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 quarts beef broth (I used 1 quart beef broth and 2 cans beef consomme)
• 1 baguette, sliced
• 1/2 pound grated Gruyere (I used provolone for Jim and Swiss for me)

Directions:

1. Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat

2. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes.

(This was half way through the caramelization process. Keep going.)

3. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn’t burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

4. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
5. When you’re ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.

(I however, toasted the bread slices and then placed them in the bowls and topped with slices of cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. I then placed the entire bowl under the broiler and melted the cheese).

Voila! Perfectly rustic french onion soup fitting for any brisk fall night.