Ingredients

Scale

2 medium yellow onions, julienned (cut into very thin half moons)
1 tsp sugar
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (I used white button mushrooms but you can use cremini if you prefer)
2 lbs beef stew meat or 2 lbs of chuck roast cut into one inch cubes
6 Tbsp Orrington Farms French Onion Soup Base
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I used low fat)
1 Tbsp flour
Hot cooked egg noodles

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Instructions

Place the thinly sliced onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle with the teaspoon of sugar and stir.
Add the sliced mushrooms and the beef stew meat into the slow cooker.
In a small bowl, whisk the soup base and the water together until smooth. Pour into the slow cooker. Stir a bit.
Cover and cook on LOW for about 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. Onions should be caramelized and the beef chunks will be very tender.
In a small bowl, stir the sour cream and the flour together. Stir the sour cream into the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to high and cook with the lid off for about 10 minutes. This will thicken the sauce up.
Serve the beef and sauce over the top of egg noodles. I sliced up a baguette and melted some cheese over the top of it under the broiler. This really completed the French onion soup experience.

Notes

Ideal slow cooker size: 6 quart

Freezer meal instructions: Combine onions, sugar, mushrooms, beef and French onion base into a freezer zipper bag. Freeze. When ready to eat, pour contents of bag into slow cooker and add in one cup of water. Follow instructions 4-6 above. You will probably need to add a couple of hours to the cooking time if you put contents of bag into the slow cooker frozen solid, you you can always thaw the bag the night before in the refrigerator.