Use It Up: Onions

Onions are inexpensive and used in most recipes. When sales are at their peak, you can pick up a bag for very little money and you tell yourself  you’ll use them up before they go bad. But life has other plans. Unexpected things come up and suddenly all those new recipes as well as the oldies get put aside.

Once things return to normal you’re staring in your pantry thinking, “Now what?  Those suckers may grow legs any minute and walk right out of here."
But don’t worry there a few things you can do to salvage some, if not all, of these mutant creatures now taking up residence in your onion bin.
First up you can always chop them up and place in a single layer on a foil lined cookie sheet. Place in your freezer until frozen, then place in resealable bags to cook with. Do note that the texture is some what chewy once thawed, so really they are only useful in recipes.

One recipe I absolutely love, and fall back on anytime I have a surplus of onions, is Onion Casserole. The following recipe is the original. I tweak it just a little. After making it by the recipe the first time, I found I’d rather dice my onions instead of leaving it in slices. It makes a prettier casserole and less cutting for the eater. I also usually just make up a chicken flavored white sauce using chicken base and use in place of the soup and bouillon. The chips are really tasty on it but I have used saltine cracker crumbs and it tasted fine.

Onion Casserole

¼ cup butter

9 large onions, sliced

1 (7 ounce) bag sour cream and onion flavored potato chips, crushed

1 cube beef bouillon

1/2 cup water

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350* . Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute onions until tender. Transfer to prepared dish and top with crushed potato chips. Dissolve bouillon in water and mix with mushroom soup; pour over chips and onions. Top with cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

If you love munching on French’s French Fried Onions or need some to top a Green Bean Casserole then make your own. These are really yummy. They make great snacks for movie night. Don’t worry if you don’t have sweet onions. I made these out of the little white “great for cooking” onions, (you know the ones that water your eyes and make your nose run just looking at them?) I made them out of those and they were a hit at our house. If you happen to have sweet onions then onion rings may be the easier route for you.

Deep Fried Onions

Onions

Around 2 cups buttermilk or (soured milk - 1 Tbsp white vinegar to about 1 cup milk)

2 cups flour

Salt (about 1 Tbsp)

Pepper

Cayenne pepper (¼-½ teaspoon)

Oil for frying

Slice onions very, very thinly (see your knife through the slices thin).Separate slices into rings and place them in a shallow dish. Cover rings with buttermilk or sour milk. Soak at least an hour. Place flour, salt and both peppers in a bowl. Heat oil to 375*. Dredge rings in flour mixture, shake off excess, and fry until golden.

(Note: When dredging don't worry about dipping one ring at a time in the flour,  just use your tongs and grab a bunch, drop them in and toss flour over them, roll them around, whatever floats your boat, then grab back up with tongs and shake the excess flour off and drop in the oil.  Much easier that way with less work!)

There doesn't seem to be anything sweeter than caramelized onions. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote a book about her husband's childhood, entitled Farmer Boy. One of his favorite dishes was Apples and Onions. 

Apples and Onions


6 medium onions, sliced and separated into rings
2 Tbsp. bacon drippings or butter
6 medium apples,cored and cut into 1/4 inch wedges ( tart apples are best)
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
 
In large skillet cook onions in grease or butter over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.  Add apples and top with brown sugar.  Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until apples are tender. 


One last word about onions.  If you ever have the misfortune of burning yourself, reach for a fresh onion.  Cut it in half and rub over the burn.  The juice from it really helps. 

There you have it!  The incredible, edible, ...... I mean the ornery, honorary, onion. 

Until next time......Happy Eating!

Kristi