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Creamy Fresh Tomato Basil Soup

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Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
My mom came to visit recently and whenever she comes she always brings me bags of goodies from her garden. There is just nothing better than fresh cucumbers, okra, and eggplant. But my favorite thing is a red, juicy, ripe tomato!

Her garden was overflowing so she brought a ton of veggies. She brought so many tomatoes, there was no way that I’d be able to eat them all before they went bad. I knew I’d have to do something with them so I decided to make one of my other favorite things – Creamy Fresh Tomato Basil Soup.

I’ll go ahead and warn you that you might want to double the recipe if you plan on sharing this soup with anyone. It never fails that I tell myself that I am done and then I take another bite…and then another….and then another…and another. Until finally I just pull the bowl out of the fridge and finish it off!

This is the perfect tomato soup and beats any canned soup that you’ve ever had. The fresh tomatoes and basil just makes this soup incredible. If you find yourself with an abundance of fresh tomatoes this is a must-make recipe. If you don’t have an abundance of fresh tomatoes…go hunt some down! I promise this recipe is worth it!

Creamy Fresh Tomato Basil Soup
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 cups chicken stock or broth
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
  1. Add one tablespoon of butter into a large pot and saute the chopped onion and garlic for 2 -3 minutes until softened.
  2. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil.
  3. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
  4. Add the basil then use an immersion blender to puree the soup. (You can also use a blender or run through a food mill if desired.)
  5. In a small pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat and add the 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix to combine and cook the roux for about one minute.
  6. Add ½ cup of the pureed soup to the roux and whisk together to remove all lumps.
  7. Spoon/pour the roux into the hot soup and whisk to combine.
  8. Cook over medium for 2 minutes.
  9. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and the cream and serve.

 

Slow Cooker Corn And Potato Chowder

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Slow Cooker Corn And Potato ChowderIf you guys visit me over on I Heart Publix you might know that every week I try out a couple of products to see if the store brand is as good as the national brand. I have been doing this for quite a while so I am now looking to things that I might not purchase on a regular basis. This week I grabbed a couple of cans of corn.

I usually go for fresh or frozen corn for my recipes. I don’t typically use much canned corn and rarely keep it on hand. Before I opened the cans for the taste test I wanted to come up with something to do with that corn so it wouldn’t go to waste.  I put on my thinking cap and decided to use those cans for a very old recipe that I haven’t made in quite a while – Corn and Potato Chowder.

The recipe I have is ancient. It’s a handwritten recipe that is stained and almost faded at this point. I honestly don’t even know why I still have it. The recipe is pretty basic but it’s one of the first recipes that someone took the time to write out and give to me. I have modified it slightly over the years. The biggest change is that I opt to toss it in the slow cooker and let it cook all day while I am busy doing other things.

My guys love this chowder and it was a great way to put that canned corn to use. If you don’t have canned corn feel free to use frozen or even fresh! This is a great recipe to make after Easter when you are looking for something to do with that ham bone.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Corn And Potato Chowder
 
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Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 cans of corn (15.25 oz cans)
  • 2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 ham bone (or ham hock)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1½ cups half & half
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • salt to taste
  • 4 slices of bacon, cooked crisp & crumbled
  • shredded cheese and sliced green onion (if desired)
Instructions
  1. Place the corn, potatoes, onion, ham bone, black pepper and chicken broth in your slow cooker and cover.
  2. Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours.
  3. minutes before serving, add the half & half and butter.
  4. Cover and cook 30 minutes.
  5. Remove the ham bone.
  6. Use your immersion blender and pulse through the chowder until it's thickened to your liking (you can also place about 1½ - 2 cups of the chowder into your blender and blend until thickened then mix back into the chowder.)
  7. Season with salt to taste.
  8. Top with bacon, cheese and green onion (if desired.)

Easy Clam Chowder

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Easy Clam ChowderEach week I do a taste test for one of my other sites. We try the national version of a food and the matching Publix store brand. It’s a fun thing that all of my guys have come to look forward to each week. Recently, we tried a couple of cans of clam chowder. It’s been so cold here that I needed a hearty soup to warm me up.

Well…that taste test had me hankering for more clam chowder! I looked in my pantry and had a couple of cans of clam so I whipped up a batch of my Easy Clam Chowder.

This recipe is so simple but yields an incredibly delicious chowder that will have you scraping the pot clean! What’s nice is that it takes very few ingredients. Now, I am sure that some folks will turn their nose up to the fact that this recipe uses canned clams. I am sure fresh clams would be fantastic…but let’s get real I live in Tennessee and there’s not a huge offering for fresh clams. That takes major planning and a lot of effort to get those babies! It also requires quite a bit more effort. Trust me when I tell you the canned clams will still have you licking the bowl clean!

Next time you are hankering for a bowl of delicious, comfort food, give this recipe a try! I think you’ll find that you’ll skip the canned version from now on!

4.0 from 2 reviews
Easy Clam Chowder
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 3 slices of bacon, chopped - I use thick sliced
  • 2 cans clams with juice 6.5 oz
  • 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced small
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
  • 1½ cups water
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 cups half & half
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the chopped bacon in a large stockpot.
  2. Cook until crisp then remove to a paper lined plate to drain and reserve for later.
  3. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
  4. Add the onions and celery to the bacon fat and cook over medium until softened - about 5 minutes.
  5. Add the potatoes, clam juice (reserve the clams for later), water and bay leaf.
  6. Cook for about 10 -12 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
  7. Add the flour to ½ cup of half and half, whisk together until combined and no lumps remain.
  8. Pour the mixture into the pot along with the rest of the half and half.
  9. Cook over medium heat and simmer until the chowder begins to thicken - about 5 - 8 minutes.
  10. Add the clams and remove from heat.
  11. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  12. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
  13. The soup is best if left to sit for about 10 minutes.
  14. Top with the cooked bacon.

 

Vegetable Beef Soup

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Vegetable Beef Soup

We have had a couple of weeks of very cold weather here in the Chattanooga. I know you guys in the North probably just laugh at what we consider cold weather. I live in the South for a reason…I am a warm weather kind of gal.

I think snow is beautiful but I prefer to look at it for a bit…then I want it to go away. We have had some flurries here and there but nothing really stuck to the ground. The other day the weather was just ugly and cold. It dipped below freezing and the county called off school for the day. My boys were thrilled to have a long weekend. I figured I’d make the most of it and whip up some Vegetable Beef Soup to keep everyone warm!

This is the easiest soup in the world as you can really add whatever veggies that you like and/or have on hand. Frozen, canned, fresh…whatever – you just can’t go wrong.

I’d happily just have a bowl of veggie soup but my guys are big carnivores and prefer their soup with some meat. The ground beef adds a nice texture so this is the version that makes them happy. The best thing is that it makes a huge pot so I have leftovers for lunch the next day!

Whip up a pan of cornbread and hunker down with a bowl…it’s sure to keep you toasty on a cold day!

Vegetable Beef Soup
 
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Serves: 6 - 8
Ingredients
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 cups tomato juice or V8
  • 48 oz beef stock
  • 1½ tablespoons beef base
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz
  • ½ cup corn
  • ½ cup carrots, sliced
  • 1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
  • ½ cup lima beans
  • ½ cup okra, sliced
  • ½ cup green beans
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
  1. Add the ground beef to a large stockpot and brown the meat over medium heat, crumbing as you stir.
  2. Drain any excess fat and add the onion and garlic.
  3. Cook until the onions are tender, about 3 - 4 minutes.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
  5. Turn the pot up to medium high heat and bring to a boil.
  6. Once the soup has come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 40 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
  7. Taste and season as needed.
  8. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Notes
You could also do this in your slow cooker. Brown the beef and cook the onions as indicated. Once those steps have been completed, transfer to the slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours.