French Onion Pot Roast with Cheesy Toasts

We love French Onion soup.
We love pot roast.
So... why not do them together?
Oh,  I know just about everyone has used a packet of instant french onion soup mix at some time in their life to liven something up, but REAL french onion soup is so different and way more delicious, especially with pot roast. Think of it like a "de-constructed" french onion soup with loads of tender beef, and accented with cheesy bread that's not soggy. 

The sweet smell of cooking onions is a fantastic way to enjoy the coming dinner, however, if you don't want that permeating your entire house, I've heard of people doing it outside on their deck, though you better make sure it's under cover, just in case it rains.

One note, about the whole garlic, I did that in order to be able to easily remove it at the end, as I wanted a sweet onion flavor, and not a ton of garlic.  You could even omit the garlic, or if you love it, go ahead and slice it up and leave it in.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

2-3 lb pot roast, trimmed of excess fat
salt and pepper
olive oil

5-6 onions, sliced
3-4 springs fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, whole
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine (it's sweeter and more tangy than red)
salt and pepper

8-12 slices of firm french bread
Some butter
White cheese- Gruyere, Jarlsberg, Mozzarella, Monterrey Jack or Parmesan
Chives, optional 

Spray a crock pot with some olive oil.  Slice onions and add to the crock pot.  Add whole garlic and fresh thyme.

Salt & pepper the outside of the pot roast, and sear in a hot pan over medium high heat until it's browned on both sides.  Add to the crock pot.  Add chicken stock and white wine, and about a teaspoon of salt.  Cook on High for 6-7 hours, until the onions are softened and the beef is very tender. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

After 7 hours, mine looked like this.  I removed the garlic, and the thyme stems, and carefully broke the meat into pieces.

To make the cheesy toasts, spread butter lightly on the bread, toast under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned.  Add cheese, and chives, and toast again until they are bubbly.  Serve at once.