Homemade Creamy Tomato Soup

Today's pinterest review comes from one of my very own favorite blogs Skinnytaste.com. Pretty much most of my pins in my Grub Board on Pinterest come from this blog. I have been meaning to share this one for a while because it was so good and company approved :)

I have never really cared for tomato soup/tomato basil soup and I have NEVER had the classic American favorite Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup until I made this lovely Creamy Tomato Soup recipe and served it with some lovely sun dried tomato pesto grilled cheese sandwiches. Explosions of goodness happened that night. Safe to say I am now American and will be eating that again. 

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, with juice
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/4 cup fresh basil (I used a third of that but in dried basil b/c the store didn't have fresh basil)
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth 
• Parmesan cheese rind 
• 1 bay leaf

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 3/4 cups reduced fat milk, warmed up

Chop everything up, heat up the oil over the stove, and cook the celery, carrots, and onions for about 5 minutes. Open the can of tomatoes, and crush the tomatoes in your hands (be cautious not too splash all over your kitchen like I did). Pour the can of tomatoes and the veggies in the crock pot with the thyme, basil, chicken broth, the bay leaf, and the parmesan cheese rind. 

Cook on low for 6 hours and let the crock pot do everything. 

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup so that all of the vegetables are all blended into a creamy masterpiece. 

Melt butter over stove and add the flour. Whisk for four minutes or so. Take a cup of the hot soup and the warmed milk and stir it into the paste. Pour the mix back into the crock pot and let it sit for ten minutes or so on the low setting. 

Easy vs. Hard: 7, The crock pot does most of the work but the chopping and the blending and all of that makes it a little more difficult than just your average can of tomato soup in the micro (but don't eat that crap because it doesn't taste the same)

Taste: 8, Like I said, I have never liked tomato soup until I tried this recipe, but the grilled cheese definitely helped

Time: 8, It did require at least an hour total in the kitchen, some cutting time, and then the finishing touches at the end

Nutritional Status: 8, Not too shabby, I would like to try this recipe again after making homemade chicken broth which I hope to be experimenting with soon!

Sorry I don't have my usual cost breakdown this time around, but I can assure you that this meal is very affordable especially because most of these ingredients you may already have in your kitchen.