Friday, March 2, 2012

Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

Source: adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking (which was recommended to me by my aunt Nikie)


Ingredients:
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice (I used one can Hunt's Green Pepper, Celery and Onion and one can Hunt's Spicy Red Pepper (which gave the soup quite the nice little kick))
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
1 Tablespoon dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups (or ~2 cans) chicken broth
½ bay leaf
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups milk, warmed
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:
Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.  Add half the soup to a blender and blend for a few seconds to make the soup a creamy consistency.  Add blended soup back to the remaining soup and allow it to heat through again.  (You could also blend the whole pot if you prefer a more uniform consistency.)

About 30 minutes before serving add the Parmesan cheese, warmed milk, and pepper.  Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don't be afraid to always season to taste at the end). Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

Makes about 2 quarts.

Notes:
Nikie and family raved about this soup recipe, so I knew I had to try it.  As I was reading the recipe, however, I became a little wary of the roux.  Notice I don't mention anything about a roux in the recipe above?  That's because I left it out.  Yep, I did.  I adapted a recipe as I was making it - Gregg is so proud!  (I did ask my mom her thoughts, since she had made it recently, so it wasn't completely from my head.)  If you're interested, check out the original recipe.  But I didn't even miss it (and neither will my hips, I'm sure!). Serve with these yummy garlic knots and you've got a winner of a meal for a snowy, winter evening.

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