Crock Pot Guinness French Onion Soup & Irish Cheddar Crouton

Crock Pot Guinness French Onion Soup & Irish Cheddar Crouton

Ingredients:
4 Medium Yellow Onions, Sliced Thinly
5 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
3 Tbsp. Light Butter
1/4 C. Red Wine Vinegar
6 C. Reduced Sodium Beef Broth
1 (11.2 Oz.) Guinness Draught Beer
1 Bay Leaf
1 Tbsp. Dried Rosemary
Salt & Pepper To Taste
6 Slices French Bread (2" x 2-1/2" x 1-3/4")
6 Oz. Irish Cheddar, Sliced (I used Kerry gold, Aged)

Directions:
Place onions, garlic, and butter into your slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat setting for 45 minutes to an hour or until onions begin to soften. Yes, your slow cooker will be pretty full of onions. Don't let it scare you! They cook down to almost nothing.

Stir red wine vinegar, broth, beer, bay leaf, rosemary, salt and pepper into onions. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 9 hours (or high heat setting 3 to 4 hours) or until onions are very tender.

Once the soup is finished, remove the bay leaf. Right before serving, preheat oven broiler and set out individual slices of French bread onto a baking sheet. Top bread slices with 1 oz. of the cheddar cheese each and broil until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Ladle soup into bowls and top with toasted 'croutons'. Serve piping hot.