Delicious Tomato Basil Soup

Shut.the.front.door.and.hold.on.to.your.grilled.cheese.sammy.this.soup.is.a.MAZ.ing!
Seriously, this is possibly my new favorite soup. 'What can be so good about a tomato soup?' you ask. Oh my, where do I start? The velvety creamy texture. The underlying roasted red pepper flavor. The sharp bite of the tomatoes. The hint of basil.
So, if you live anywhere a Zupas Cafe and you've tried their Tomato Bisque, chances are, that is one of your favorite soups. I know that was the case for me. I am happy to say that I have found a way to top Zupas in my own home! It's that good!
No more tomato soup out of the can. This pretty little number does have quite a few extra steps outside of the normal 'mix milk or water with condensed soup and nuke for 3 minutes' instructions. In all honesty, most recipes I make during the weeknights aren't quite as time consuming as this one, but the results made up for it by far! On a chilly autumn November day, there's nothing better than a hot bowl of soup and a gooey stringy grilled cheese sandwich to dip into your soup. Please please... stop at the store tomorrow and pick up all the ingredients for this recipe. Your tastebuds will thank me!

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
adapted from How Does She

2 (28 oz) cans of whole tomatoes (reserve juice)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 Tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2-3 Tablespoons flour
2 (15 oz) cans or one carton of vegetable broth
2 fresh red peppers, roasted
1 cup prepared pesto
1.5 cups half and half (low fat or fat free substitutions fine)


Note: to roast peppers, cut them in half, clean out the seeds, and place them skin side up on a broiler pan. Broil them for about 20-25 minutes or until you notice the majority of the skin turning black. Don't be alarmed - they're not burned! Remove from oven and let cool. When fool enough to handle, peel off the black skins and cut in large chunks. Don't skip the red peppers! They're the secret ingredient!
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil. Squeeze out seeds of tomatoes and arrange them on baking sheet. Sprinkle them with brown sugar. Bake until liquid is evaporated and tomatoes are caramelized (about 30 minutes).

Heat butter, onion, and tomato paste in large pot. The onions will take on a gorgeous color at this point. Saute until onions soften.

Add flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add vegetable broth and reserved tomato juice. Bring to a boil.

Add tomatoes and peppers and puree until smooth with an immersion blender. Or you can remove from pot in small batches and puree in a food processor or blender.

Return to put, simmer for 15 minutes. Five minutes before serving, add pesto and half and half.
Look at that beautiful green!
If you want to get real fancy, drizzle your cream over the top of each individual bowl. Classy.

It only took about 0.25 seconds to go from THIS...

To THIS!... mmmmmmmmmmmm

"I don't want to be sick anymore" Minestrone Soup

Since last Saturday, I have been battling a stuffy nose, scratchy throat, achy body, and just a general no-good cold! I made it through Halloween, but only because it's my motherly obligation to actually take the kiddo Trick-or-Treating. Otherwise, I'm not sure it actually would have happened. We went down to my parents' neighborhood to trick-or-treat, and my mom came along too. It ended up being really fun, and my little Ninja got way too much candy! (which is how it's supposed to go right?) Well, despite the fun we all had, being out in the cold for 2 hours sure didn't help my cold. The next morning, I felt even worse and it made for a long day at work. Wednesday I even had to take a day off and rest. Oh, and right around this time, Tiffani started getting the sore throat and sniffles too! So we're both feeling down and out.
Thursday at work, trying to come up with something yummy for dinner was difficult. Really, nothing sounds good at all when you're sick.... except!... Hearty hot soup that just makes your throat feel so much better from the first bite! So I was on the hunt for a delish minestrone soup, full of vitamin packed veggies to mend this nasty bug.

Hearty Minestrone Soup
adapted from allrecipes.com

ingredients
3 Tablespoons of coconut oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
5 carrots sliced
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
4 cups tomato sauce
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can green beans
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup seashell pasta
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat coconut oil (of course, you could use olive oil - coconut oil is just my oil of choice) and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. I'm really lazy sometimes and use the already chopped and jarred garlic. I should probably just get over it and use the fresh stuff, but you know what - i'm busy, and i haven't noticed a taste difference, so this is how it is for now.
Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

Look at all those pretty fresh veggies! Do you really think I'm going to be able to stay sick much longer? Nope!
Add vegetable broth (or chicken if you prefer), water (I started with 1/2 cup and was just fine. The original recipe called for 2 cups of water and that just seemed excessive. You choose. I like a chunkier soup), and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. I only had dried herbs on hand, so I had to make do. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, the longer the better.
While your soup is simmering, fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add your pasta (I used those teeny little stars, and the kiddo loved it). Cook until tender, drain, and set aside.
Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through, place a bit of cooked pasta into individual serving bowls and ladle soup on top of pasta. Top with some Parm, stick a yummy whole wheat roll or some saltines in there, and you are set! I used a yummy Parm/Romano blend and was happy with the results.


While I'm still not feeling 100%, I do feel like I'm the up side of this cold. I'm going to try and get a little workout in this morning, maybe have some of this leftover get-better soup for lunch, and have a great day and try to forget that I really don't feel all that great. It's snowing here in my neck of the woods... hoping to keep warm somehow! You do the same!
What's your favorite "I'm sick and just want to feel better" meal? Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Pacific Natural Foods.