Beefy French Onion Soup

makes 6 servings, 1-1/3 cups each

3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (Crimini works great!)

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced onion

10-12 ozs fat-trimmed and thinly sliced strips of beef sirloin steak

Salt & Black Pepper

2 32-oz cartons of reduced sodium beef broth

1/3-cup dry white wine, optional (white cooking wine or cooking sherry work great!)

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

4 oz wide German egg noodles (trust me, 4 oz is enough!)

Optional:

French bread or other crusty, rustic slices

Sliced Swiss, Gruyere, or Havarti cheese

Directions:

1. In a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or pot cook mushrooms in 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until softened. Add onion and an additional 1 tablespoon oil; cook and stir over medium heat until mushrooms and onions are lightly browned. Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, 10 minutes or until soft and golden, stirring if necessary. Remove from pan.

2. Sprinkle beef strips with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook and stir until browned. Remove beef from pan; set aside.

3. Stir in beef broth, wine (if using), Worcestershire sauce, and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to boiling; add noodles and onion mixture. Cook noodles, uncovered, according to package instructions, return meat to Dutch oven the last 3 minutes of cooking.

4. Meanwhile, if desired, toast bread. Top each serving with a slice of cheese. Use toasted bread for sopping up broth. Enjoy!