Easy creamy chicken, cheddar and onion soup

This is a quick and delicious onion soup that doesn’t require any special ingredients. Use leftover chicken and you can have lunch or dinner made in about 20 minutes, without having to stand at the stove. The rich chicken broth and smooth, creamy cheddar is comfort food at its best, while the caramelized onions satisfy any French onion soup lover.

I whipped this up the first time for my husband while I was preparing to go on my first “girl’s night out” after having my now, 8-month-old baby boy. I didn’t realized how much a baby would change my life! Now that he’s crawling, my windows of “me time” have shrunk once again. Until lately, I was able to count on him taking a 2-3 hour morning nap, with another 1-2 hours in the afternoon. Now, I’m lucky if he sleeps 30 minutes. Instead of sleeping during the day, he has never-ending energy, wanting to crawl or climb on everything he can.

One meal that saves me time is a baked chicken. I try to cook one once a week. It’s easy to prepare, tastes incredible, and results in 10-12 meals for the three of us – plus leftovers for the dogs. The reason I get so much out of my baked chickens is because I save the bones and use them to make broth for soups. Add chopped chicken breast to the broth with whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand and you end up with a fresh, homemade soup that will wow anyone.

For this soup, the only fresh veggies I had left (time to shop!) were Vidalia onions. These onions have a high sugar content, making them the perfect choice for slow caramelizing. Any onion will do, though. Just chop them up and toss them in a pan with some olive oil. When they start to sizzle, turn the heat to low and let them slowly cook, turning them every now and then. You’ll see them shrink up and start to turn golden brown as the sugars and flavor are concentrated. When they are almost done, toss in your chopped garlic, keeping the heat low.