Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Happy 2012!

I love New Years. It's definitely one of my favorite holidays. This year Stan and I spent NYE at the wedding of two of our dearest friends. It was a great night filled with friends, laughter, and love. We couldn't have asked for a better way to ring in the new year.

Today I sit back in our home in Wisconsin, we got back from Montana yesterday. Loved every minute of the trip, but I couldn't be happier to be home. Except we are without Buster for another week or so. I miss him so much... One would never think that an animal could take up such a large portion of the heart. But boy oh boy do they ever.

Onto my New Year's Resolutions. What are yours? Mine are to eat a salad every weekday and take my vitamins everyday. My resolution for Sharon Moore Recipes is to just improve. Improve my writing, my pictures, just improve as much as possible. Thanks so much for continuing to support me.

Okay. Enough with the mushy things. On to the food... Always on to the food!

This recipe is a soup you make in the slow cooker (crock pot, if you will). You dice up a bunch of veggies so small that picky eaters won't even know they're there. It was so good that Stan didn't even notice there was no meat in it. Score! Quick side note on meat. While Stan and I were in Montana we had eight steaks in two weeks... EIGHT! I love red meat but geez... We'll be having chicken for a while now.

As I sometimes do, I forgot to take pictures of this soup. Luckily I remembered as I was about to dive into the last bowl. Sorry for that. So much for my resolution. Wait a minute I made this before I made that resolution so I'm in the clear.

The blog I found this recipe on is probably one of the funnest ideas for a cooking blog. Had lots of fun exploring the site. Check it out.

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
(Recipe from 365 Days of Slow Cooking)

2-14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried basil
4 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf in a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors have blended and veggies are soft (you'll definitely notice when this happens).

About 30 minutes before serving, prepare a roux. In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter and add flour. Using a whisk, stir constantly until combined. Slowly stir in 1 cup of hot soup. Add another 3 cups of soup, stirring until smooth. Pour back into the slow cooker. Stir and add Parmesan, warmed half and half, and salt and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano if needed (I didn't add any more at this point). Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or until ready to serve.