Saturday, August 31, 2013

"Cheat" Tomato-Basil Soup

The  Mister and I went to a small farmer's market on Saturday.  The markets are an eighth of the size I'm used to when I lived in town.  But small as it was, the prices and variety were good. We bought corn, yellow beans, beets, garlic, kohlrabi's, and a few tomatoes.

My friend had given me some basil, which I froze until I was ready to use it.

This is my cheat version of Tomato/basil soup.



Before I diced up the tomatoes I removed their skins.  Adding to the tomatoes was chopped basil, garlic and onion.




I simmered them until they cooked down.  Oh the smell in my kitchen was wonderful!!



When its cooked down, I put about 3/4 cup in a freezer bag, and freeze.  I have found if I fill the bag while inserted in a cup, the sealing edge stays clean.


Now for my cheat  recipe:   Two cans of Tomato soup, suggested amount of milk, and a packet of my tomato/basil mixture.  
On those crisp fall nights we will  add a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches with our tomato/basil soup, for the ultimate comfort food!



And that's the way it is..............




14 comments:

  1. your cheat recipe is the only soup i cook when it is cold weather, but mine is SOOTC straight out of the can. but i do heat it... and add crackers and sometimes a grill cheese sandwich...the soup looks beautiful from here...

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  2. Sounds really good to me, and it is definitely a winter meal around here too.

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  3. Sounds wonderful and thanks for the tip about filling zip lock bags!!

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  4. Looks and sounds YUMMY ! Papa has a coworker who's family farms fresh veggies and he brought some home ! I love local farm fresh foods ! Thanks for sharing ! Have a good weekend !

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  5. I giggled when I read this because I had a similar experience. My go-to soup for our church’s ‘soup night’ was tomato basil. Three years ago when I made it, I doubled the recipe instead of quadrupling it. When I put it in the slow cooker to transport it and keep it hot, I saw my mistake. So I sent my husband out for some good old Campbell’s and I threw the cans into the mix along with some added basil and cream. Voilà – I had enough soup! [Unfortunately, my friend drove me home and saw the empty cans – I had to ‘fess up!]

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  6. that's our "snow" meal. i get the soup from panera bread (more cheating then you) when they are forcasting snow!!

    i always fill freezer bags the same way, i use my big glass measuring cup!! sounds and looks yummy!!

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  7. kohlrabi!!! yum! how i miss that from my wisconsin days! have seen it here in only one grocery store in dallas. *sigh*

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  8. Looks yummy. I love tomatoes.

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  9. I love that cup trick and will definitely use it. Clever. Wish I liked cooked tomatoes. I know--weird.

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  10. Sounds like a good way to make soup with a homemade touch.

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  11. Good idea!!!!
    Looks so so good....enjoy

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  12. I have never cooked with basil, I do like the smell of it, I used to grow it for customers. I am not very adventerous with new foods:)

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  13. Tomato and basil...cannot go wrong. I do not have much luck growing basil for some reason--I go with the small leaves, globe type now.

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  14. Sounds wonderful! I love the smell of basil.

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