Creamy Onion Soup

            
                  Do you remember hearing stories about how during the depression, people really needed to find many ways to make food go further.  They needed to come up with new dishes out of cheap ingredients.  You heard about cabbage soup I am sure.
                  Onions are generally an inexpensive food to buy.  If you are like me, you have a pantry stocked with chicken broth.  Put one and one together, and you have the fixings for a real inexpensive meal that is quite tasty.
                  This is not a French style onion soup.  It is more similar to The Outback Restaurant Creamy Onion Soup.  It is a filling soup that goes well with some hearty bread and a salad.  It is a great fall recipe that is sure to warm up your soul, and it is easy to make.

Ingredients

1. 4 cups chopped onions (that was 2 onions for me.  I used sweet onions.)
2. 3 Tbl butter
3. 3 Tbl flour
4. 4 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
5. 4 bay leaves
6. 1 1/2 tsp salt
7. 1/2 tsp pepper
8. 1 Cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
9. 1/4 Cup half and half or light cream

Melt the butter in a medium pot on medium heat.  Add the onions and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the flour and stir for 3 minutes.  Then slowly add the chicken broth.

Add the bay leaves, salt, pepper and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves and then puree the soup.  I used my immersion blender.

Then add the cheese and the half and half.

Top individual bowls with some cheese.