Frugal Fridays: French Onion Soup

One of my brother's has a financial blog and IMed me this morning about a blog sharing idea he had. So here is the plan: Every, er, some Fridays I will write a post including a money saving kitchen tip and (hopefully) a wallet friendly recipe. The Brother will also post on his blog and everyone can be fat AND have a happy wallet. Here it goes.....

Kurt and I just bought our first home! It's a small condo not too far from where we were renting. We got a great deal on it and we're pretty excited about it. As anyone who has ever moved into something other than a cardboard box knows you (ideally) purchase a particular home because you like it. This is all great until you move in and realize how much more you would like it after you change or add about 53 "little" things. Turns out that a little times 53 equals a lot every time. Here's where it gets a little crazy...
Even though we didn't move very far the dates on our rental and our closing date on the house didn't match up. Fortunately, my brother kindly allowed Kurt and I to stay with him during the in between time. This was great because cardboard boxes don't hold up well in Denver's snow and we also really like his wife and two squids. The down side to that is that most homes don't have room for the food stockpiles of two families. So while pantry items were saved I have to re-build the fresh and frozen section of our kitchen. Can you say cha-ching?

So let's recap: New house+paint+53 "little" things+ empty fridge= happy stores/sad bank account. What's a girl with a new but empty kitchen to do? A few classic and tasty dishes can stretch your buck and please your stomach when it's not quite payday yet. So can some effective planning and budgeting, but that part is on my brother's blog.

Frugal Idea of the Week: Some classic food dishes have stood the test of time because our ancestors had times where supplies were meager. Having a few in your repertoire can save you money and make for a very happy hubby (or whoever you happen to be feeding).

French Onion Soup
Serves two with left overs for lunch

• 1/4 cup butter (that's a half a stick, Hint: it's cheapest at Costco)
• 2 yellow onions, sliced (read: cheap kitchen staple)
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bayleaf
• 2 tablespoons flour
  
• 4 cups beef broth (mine was on sale, bonus!)
  
• 2 slices of swiss cheese (Also on sale, dang I'm amazing)
  
• 2 slices of bread

In a large Saute pan over medium low heat melt butter and add onions,garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes until very soft and well caramelized. (Note: I am really impatient and suck at this. Wait it out, it's worth it.)
Add flour to onions and continue to stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Slowly stir in the broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
Place a slice of cheese on each piece of bread and place under broiler until the cheese is melted. Pour soup into bowls and top with toasted bread and cheese.

Thoughts: This soup was perfect for the snowy weather and so delicious. It's a well known classic that is nice enough for company and easy to make more of. If you find your self with an excess of these ingredients (say, from an awesome sale you found) make some to freeze for a night when you don't have time to cook.