Snow Days=Soup Days

It's hard to believe yesterday I staring outside the window with a little spring fever and wanting to go work on my 2011 Garden!! Now I wake up to snow and the forecast doesn't seem to predict it stopping anytime soon.. Today's errands will have to wait! I'm staying home and making Soup! Yum!

This summer, Mikes favorite soup was my rendition of Paradise bakery's "Fire Roasted tomato soup" using OUR tomatoes from the garden. Unfortunately the days of copious tomatoes is a memory, so I'm making it from Canned tomatoes....**gulp** Followed with homemade bread sticks! I hope it's just as good as fresh tomatoes! It's a really delicious hardy healthy soup so I thought I would share.

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingedients:

1 Large Onion
3 heads of garlic cut in half to expose the clove
(or use 1/4 tsp dried minced for each clove)
Olive Oil
2tsp Salt (to taste)
1 tsp pepper (to taste)
1tsp Oregano
3lbs of Plum tomatoes quartered
(or 5-15oz cans of diced tomatoes)
32oz bottle fire roasted (or sundried) tomatoes
(Costco sells a 2lb jar for a steal!!!)
2-8oz tomato sauce
2-6oz can of tomato paste
12oz Evaporated Milk
2-14oz Chicken Broth
(or less/more depending on the desired thickness)
12 whole basil leaves, minced
(I just add 1tsp of dry into the soup if I don't have fresh)
Sour Cream for garnish

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450f. In large bowl, lightly toss together the quartered tomatoes, 3tbs olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour out onto a foil-lined baking pan and roast for 25-30 minutes until tomatoes are soft and have started to caramelize.
Remove from oven and set aside









Place halved heads of garlic on large sheet of foul with the cut side up. Drizzle with 1 tbp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Seal up the foil and roast in the oven with the tomatoes until the garlic is soft. Set aside and allow to cool so that it can be handled.

In large pot heat remaining 2 tsp of oil over med heat. Add onion and cook until caramelized. Add Oregano, black pepper and tomato paste. Cook stirring constantly for one minute. Add the Tomato sauce, & roasted diced tomatoes with all the liquid simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the chicken broth and roasted tomatoes to the soup. Squeeze the garlic from its paper, discard the paper and add the soft garlic to the soup. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using an immersion blender or in small batches in a blender, blend until smooth. Stir in the evaporated milk and bring soup to a simmer. Add the fresh basil. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream. Delish!

Now for some dippers......









Heathers Bomb-dig-a-dee Bread sticks

1tbs. dry yeast dissolved in
1 1/2 cups of luke warm water
Let it sit for 10 min.
Mix in bowl:
2tbs. olive oil
1tsp. salt
2tsp. sugar

Add yeast mixture, and then stir in 4 cups flour
knead about 5-10 min. Grease bowl with a little oil, place dough in bowl, turn over, cover and let dough rise one hour.

Divide into 18 peices, Melt about 6tbs butter, roll into 6" long sticks. Roll sticks in melted butter and place on pan. Sprinkle with garlic powder, a little dried parsley and Paprika. (I make a season mixture of 1tsp of each)

Let rise an additional 20-30 minutes. Uncovered

Bake at 425F for approx 12-15min.

Butter when fresh from oven and place in baggy with parmigiana cheese and shake to fully cover bread stick.

Serve with soup and make sure you wipe your bowl clean! :)