What We Eat {tomato basil soup}

The cold, rainy season is here and I was craving some warm soup this week.

One of my favorite soup and sandwich places in college was called Blue Bakers. It's only on College Station (where Texas A&M University is located) and I miss it so much! Especially because they have the yummiest tomato basil soup.

So I decided to try and recreate it and I don't think I did that bad!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil 

4 garlic cloves

minced 1 large onion, chopped 

4 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes (any flavor)

12 fresh basil leaves (2 tsp of dried basil)

1 stick butter, unsalted

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock) 

2 tablespoons of sugar (less if you don't want any sweetness)

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 

kosher salt and crushed black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Put all 4 cans of tomatoes in a pot and simmer, covered on low for 30 minutes.

2. While the tomatoes are the simmering, put 2 tablespoons on olive oil in a pan and saute onion and garlic until transluscent. 

3. Then add to the tomatoes. Let finish simmering for 30 minutes.

4. Add basil leaves, butter, heavy whipping cream, chicken broth, sugar, spices, and cheese to the tomato and onion mixture.

4. Move to a blender and blend to desired consistency.

5. Return to the pot to let it warm it up. 

6. Add croutons and parmesean cheese on top and serve.

My favorite to add is a grilled cheese. Sourdough bread with butter on each piece. Put 1 piece of mozzarella on one piece and 1 piece of cheddar on the other piece. 2 minutes in a convection oven and done!

Dip and eat!

This makes a good amount of soup too. We had it for dinner on Monday, Kyle took it for lunch one day and I've eaten it for lunch 2 days.

Enjoy!