Eat of the Week: Tomato-Basil and Parmesan Soup

I didn't even think I liked tomato soup, but I came across this soup recipe on 365 Days of Slow Cooking, and it caught my eye. I decided to try it out, and now I have a new favorite soup! It was delicious. As I was finishing my 16 mile run on Saturday in the chilly weather, all I could think about was going home and eating a bowl of this soup. The first thing I did when I got home was warm up the last of my soup leftovers. I didn't know soup could taste so good at 10AM, but this one can!  

 If I haven't convinced you to try this recipe yet, I'll just add that after Scott finished eating his first bowl, and was heading back for seconds, he said, "You could serve this at a restaurant." I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything because all I did was follow the recipe and put some ingredients in a slow cooker, I'm just saying this recipe is definitely worth trying.

Here's the Recipe:

(I modified it just a little to make it gluten free, and a little less fattening.)

2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, with juice

1 C. finely diced celery

1 C. finely diced carrots

1-2 T. dehydrated onions (or 1 C. finely chopped onions)

1 tsp. dried oregano, or 1 T. fresh

1 T. dried basil, or 1/4 C. fresh

4 C. chicken broth

1/2 bay leaf

1/2 C. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

3/4-1 C. parmesan cheese

2 C. fat free half and half, warmed

1/2 C. I Can't Believe it's Not Butter

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, bay leaf, and chicken broth to slow cooker. (If using fresh basil and oregano, add those now too. If using dried, add those the last hour of cook time.)  Cover and cook on LOW 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended, and vegetables are soft. About an hour before serving, melt butter in pan on stove top and mix in the flour. Stir constantly while slowly adding 1 C. of the soup from the slow cooker. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back to the slow cooker. Stir and add parmesan, warmed half and half, salt, pepper, and oregano and basil if using dried. Cover and cook on LOW 1 more hour.  

There you have it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I'm headed to the grocery store this week to get the ingredients for this soup so I can make it again! I think this would be perfect for Christmas Day lunch. 

Speaking of Christmas Day, do you have any traditional Christmas Day foods or meals?

Growing up we always had a nice Christmas morning breakfast of pancakes with Vermont maple syrup, bacon, and hot chocolate. We also usually had ham for Christmas Dinner. Since we're not going home this year, I'm in charge of what we will be eating Christmas Day. I can't decide what we should have for breakfast Christmas morning, or for dessert Christmas night. I was thinking maybe pumpkin pancakes Christmas morning. I would love any good dessert or food ideas you have!!