Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Well we've had some really nice fall days here lately, but the weather is about to change starting tomorrow. From what I hear the temps are going to be very chilly and that is not appealing to me at all. I've really enjoyed sitting outside with a little fire on these cool evenings, but I fear these nice nights will be gone for a while and I'll have to be happy with sitting by the wood burning stove inside keeping warm in my family room.

Cozy fire on my front patio.

Well another way to keep warm is having a nice warm bowl of soup at dinner time. I found this amazing recipe for Tomato Basil Parmesan soup. The recipe originally was to be made in the crock pot, but when I found the recipe it was about three in the afternoon and I did not have the time to throw it all and the crock pot and let it cook. So I decide to make it on the stove top and it turned out great. My husband and I ended up taking our soup outside by the fire and enjoying it under the stars.

I did kind of change the recipe a bit, but nothing drastic. One thing that I changed was how to make the roux and add it to the soup. The original recipe had one adding soup to the roux and then pouring it back into the soup. I don't have time for that, nor do you need to do that if you are careful with adding the roux to the already cooking soup.

Well on with the recipe. Enjoy this soup on the upcoming cold days and nights ahead of us.

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
2-14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes with juice
1 C finely diced celery
1 C finely diced carrots
1 T fresh oregano or 1 t dried
4 C chicken broth
1/2 C flour
1 C Parmesan cheese
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 C vegetable oil
1 C finely diced onions
4 T fresh basil or 1 T dried
1 bay leaf
1/2 C butter
2 C half and half
1 t salt

1. Heat oil in 4 quart soup pot. Add celery, onions and carrots. Saute 5 minutes. Add basil, oregano, bay leaf, tomatoes, and 3 cups chicken broth. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.
2. While soup simmers, prepare the roux. Melt butter over low heat, add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 5-7 minutes.  Slowly add 1 cup chicken broth the flour mixture. Add this mixture to the soup stirring it slowly into the soup mixture.
3. Simmer, stirring constantly, until soup begins to thicken. Add Parmesan cheese and whisk to blend. Stir half and half, salt and pepper into the soup. Simmer over low heat 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.