Roasted Tomato Soup

Vine ripe tomatoes were on sale this week for .99 cents a pound. So of course I grabbed a ton and then realized there's no way I'll eat that many before they go bad! This recipe called for a total of 2 1/2 lbs of tomatoes of all kinds, but I used all vine ripe since thats what I have.



Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs fresh tomatoes (mix of whichever kinds you like)
6 cloves peeled garlic
2 small yellow onions sliced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450

Wash, core and cut tomatoes into halves. (*I cored mine with my potato peeler/apple corer). Spread tomatoes, garlic cloves, and onions onto baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove roasted tomato mix and transfer to a large stock pot. And 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves and butter. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Chop basil leaves and add to pot. Use immersion blender to puree until smooth (*If you don't have one of those nifty tools, you can pour the soup in batches into your blender). Return heat to low and add cream and remaining stock if soup needs to be thinned. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

***Just as I was making this my husband needed me to bring him something to his work that he forgot, so we ate lunch with him. I left to soup to get room temp, poured it into a freezer bag and am going to freeze it for future use. It is fall afterall...I'm sure one day it will cool down and start to feel like soup weather!

Bean and Vegetable Soup

I threw this together for myself for lunch today, since it finally feels like fall here in SoCal!

Ingredients:

Olive oil
3 slices bacon, sliced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 zuchini, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen spinach
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 can garbanzo beans, drained

Heat olive oil in large stockpot. Cook bacon until browned, remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add in all diced veggies and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Pour in tomatoes, broth, and beans. Stir to combine. Add bacon back in, and spinach. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes to combine flavors and finish cooking veggies. Top with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

Feedback:

I threw this together just pulling out things that I had, and it came out super yummy! I have to enjoy soups for lunch, because the hubby doesn't think soup is a meal, so I never make it for dinner. This will last me all week!