*This Contest is Closed*

So you may have all noticed that our blog Meet The Shannons had a melt down a few months ago. I couldn’t post. Comments went straight to the SPAM folder. Old drafts of half written posts were being published. It was like a poltergeist took over. As a blogger it was pretty much a nightmare but we had a second book to finish and holidays to celebrate and oh did I mention we’re having a baby girl in July? It’s been a busy time.

So we’ve gone back to a simpler time. This new blog layout doesn’t have a fancy slideshow and still has some flaws that we’re hoping to fix over the weekend but it works. That fact alone makes it better than the old fancy dead site. I mean who cares how pretty a sports car with four flat tires is right? I’m the impatient type. We also felt really bad that so many of you missed out on the free Daiya Vegan Cheese coupons that were available on the web last week. Thus the stars aligned.

This post combines one of the most popular recipes from our book Betty Goes Vegan  with a contest for 3 COUPONS for a FREE DAIYA VEGAN CHEESE PRODUCT of your choice into the first post on our new finely tuned, olive-oiled machine of a blog.

To enter share this post via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest and then post a link to your page in the comment section below. We’ll randomly choose one winner from the comments section below on Monday January 27th, 2014 and contact you via the comment section of your post!

So don’t be stingy – share away and may the odds be always in your favor!

Now let’s go make some soup!

French Onion Soup

Crouton & Broiled Vegan Cheese Topping

4 to 12 (1/2 inch thick) baguette slices (1-2 per serving)

1/3 to 1/2 cup cup olive oil

1 1/3 to 3 cups shredded Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Cheese or Daiya Vegan Provolone Cheese or your favorite vegan cheese

4 to 6 teaspoons Vegan Parmesan Cheese (1 teaspoon per bowl)

Onion Soup 

2 tablespoons margarine

5 red onions, sliced (the thinner the better)

6 cups Better Than Bouillon Vegan Beef Broth (made per instructions on the package)

1/4 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon sherry or dry white wine (you can use flat ginger ale if you don’t like alcohol)

1 teaspoon Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids

1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Brush both sides of your baguette slices with olive oil and place them on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake for 5 minutes; then flip the baguette slices and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until toasted and golden brown. You want to make sure they are completely toasted so they don’t become soggy in your soup later. Make your soup while you bake your croutons.

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, melt the margarine over medium heat. Once the margarine is liquefied, toss in the sliced onion and mix with the margarine until the onions are completely coated. Cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions begin to turn a light golden brown and become translucent. Turn down your heat if the onions start getting crispy edges.

Once the onions have caramelized, add the broth, black pepper, thyme, bay leaves, sherry, Bragg’s, and garlic. Cover and increase the heat to high. Once the soup begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 more minutes.

Turn on the broiler or set the oven to broil.

Fill 4 to 6 oven-safe bowls or large ramekins three-quarters of the way with onion soup. Place 1 to 2 croutons on top of the soup, depending on how big yours bowls are, and top with an even layer of vegan cheese.

Broil with the vegan cheese about 5 inches from the flame for about 1 minute—just long enough to melt. Then sprinkle an even layer of vegan Parmesan over the melted vegan cheese. Return the soup under the broiler and broil for around another minute, removing when the top is a light golden brown. Be sure to watch the soup the whole time it is under the broiler to make sure it doesn’t catch fire.

Makes 4 to 6 servings