Creamy Tomato and Parmesan Soup

This weekend was exceptionally fall-like - there was a chill in the air, the leaves started to turn all kinds of awesome colors, and I watched more football than the average person. Jake and I were outside for most of the day on Saturday, watching my niece and nephew cheerleading and playing football. It was just chilly enough that I found myself craving something savory and hot to warm myself up with. I decided then that I'd devote my Sunday to making some soup. I also decided it needed to be a Crockpot recipe, keeping with my promise to post a Crockpot recipe once a week.

I found this recipe for Tomato Basil Parmesan soup through Pinterest. It seemed to have all ingredients I love (tomatoes, cheese, butter - how can you go wrong?), so I figured I'd try it out. This soup turned out AMAZING. But I'm warning you now, it is not short on calories. Or fat. You've been warned.

The original recipe can be found here. I've made a few modifications to mine - mostly in just substituting the 2 cups of half and half for 1 cup of light cream.

Ingredients:

• 1 28 oz. can diced italian tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup finely diced celery (~4 stalks)
• 1 cup finely diced carrots (~3 medium carrots)
• 1 cup finely diced onion (~1 medium onion)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 4 cups chicken broth (I prepared mine from bouillon)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup light cream, warmed
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh basil (optional)

 How to:

• Combine tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, oregano, basil, chicken broth, and bay leaf in Crockpot. 
• Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours.
• Approximately 30 minutes before soup is served, prepare a roux. 
• Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan.
• Slowly add in flour, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes.
• Slowly add in 1 cup of hot soup, whisking constantly until smooth.
• Continue adding 3 more cups of hot soup slowly, whisking constantly until smooth.
•  Add back to the Crockpot and mix well.
•  Add warmed cream, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes on low.
• Serve in warmed bowls, garnished with fresh basil, if desired (although I recommend it!).

This recipe is incredibly flavorful. If I'm being honest, I think the next time I make this, I might omit the cream altogether - I don't think it needs it! I'd love to hear what you readers think of this recipe, so please post your comments below!

Enjoy!