The Cooking Adventures: Homemade Tomato Soup

Last week, we had the perfect fall day, and so I was craving grilled cheese sandwiches with tomoato soup.  I came across a recipe for homemade tomato soup in this cute little cookbook in the dollar pin at Target, published by Disney's Family Fun magazine. It's called Everyday Fun Foods: Creative Recipes for Kid Friendly Meals.  They still have them in the dollar bin at Target...every mom needs to pick one of these up!!! (BTW...this magazine is great!  It has so many fun crafts and recipes and activities for kids.  My mother-in-law got me a subscription and I LOVE IT!!!)

Here is the recipe:

Roasted Tomato Soup
6 Cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup whipping cream

1.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat the tomatoes evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35-45 minutes.

2. In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, thyme, and roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixutre to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.

3. Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Serve the soup garnished with Grilled-Cheese Croutons, if you like. (I just made regular grilled cheese sandwiches)

A couple of things to note with this go around:  I put about half of the soup in the freezer to pull out for later this winter to re-heat.  Also, this soup was a hit with both Noah and Matt, and even our dog Shelby.  When trying to jump up onto our dining room table to finish the last of what was left in Noah's bowl, she knocked over the bowl and got tomato soup all over my cream colored carpet. Sigh :( So now I've been trying to resolve it out!!!