Soups On!

Just kidding. You can have some soup.  But I had to throw in my 90's TV reference. Couldn't resist.

It's been extremely cold here lately and I've been craving soup (or anything warm for that matter) like crazy! Nothing warms your bones like a hot bowl of homemade soup!    One of my favorite recipes is Parmesan Cheddar Tomato Soup...and wouldn't you know, the pin has disappeared from my recipe book (I.E. Pinterest!)  I had to do a google search to find a semi-close recipe.  OH the horror!   

After searching and searching I found a recipe that I deemed worthy.  It ended up tasting just like the old recipe, and my hubs actually told me it was "freakin' amazing!" (nevermind that I've made it 4 or 5 times before and never got that reaction...)  So...I guess it is blog worthy!

Here is the recipe. Compliments of tastykitchen.com

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• ½ whole Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Rosemary
• 84 ounces, weight Canned Diced Tomatoes
• 2 cups Chicken Or Vegetable Stock
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• ½ teaspoons Sea Salt (or To Taste)
• ½ teaspoons Pepper Or To Taste
• ½ cups Fresh Basil, Chopped
• 1 whole Baguette, Sliced
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, Grated
• 1 cup Cheddar Cheese, Grated

***My tweaks: I did not have rosemary or fresh basil, so I used dried basil and left out the rosemary.  I also can't eat gluten so I didn't eat bread with it. (Although I'm sure its delicious with a toasty piece of bread).  I also did not use moz cheese--I used grated parmesan since that is what I used last time.  Oh, and I threw it all in the crock pot---on high for 4 hours and it turned out great!   This is a really great soup to make in a hurry, or if you need something to be done just in time when you get home from church!  (Or whatever you do on the weekends!)

Finally, I blended mine up to make it smooth.  My husband doesn't like "thin soups" (what does that even mean?) so I left his "chunky."  However, I think the flavors blend best if you user your emulsion blender/magic bullet/appliance of choice. You decide!

Happy souping!