Roasted Garlic Soup with French Bread and Broiled Cheese Topping

Holy Moley...oh my....sweet mother of Venus...amazing explosion on the taste buds of wicked awesomeness....I saw this on Smitten Kitchen, and fell in love, and since we had 50 pounds of roma tomatoes that were canned, I saved some to make this soup.  I also made french bread to go on top and then sharp cheddar cheese...oh, my...did I mention holy moley?  The roasted tomatoes were AMAZING I ate a couple of them before I even put them in the soup, and I also roasted the garlic, oh, the smell, the taste!!  along with the freshly baked bread...my house was heaven on earth.  I loved the roasted tomatoes so much, I diced some others, and roasted them, and added more roasted garlic and balsamic vinaigrette so I could make roasted tomato bruschetta.  Oh my...I love my life.  xoxo!

 
Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 4-6
Soup
3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic,roasted
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper
4 fresh basil leaves
1 cup fat free half and half
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Lid
4 1-inch slices from a large loaf of rye bread, whole wheat sourdough or bread of your choice (or 16 1-inch slices from a baguette), toasted until hard and lightly buttered on one side
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 cup coarsely grated cheddar (or more to taste)
Make soup: Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I used 1 full teaspoon of Kosher salt). Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.
Unwrap garlic packet and squeeze four cloves in to blender with tomatoes, tomato juices left in pan and basil leaves and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Create cheddar lid: Preheat oven to 350. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls, crocks or large mugs on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Stir grated onion into the warm soup. (I love this last-minute suggestion of onion.) Float toast slice(s) in each bowl, buttered side up and divide grated cheese generously over top. (If you’re using a wide bowl, you might find that you want more cheese to create a thick, broiled lid.) Bake soups on tray for 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese on top is bubbling and brown at the edges. If you’d like it even more bronzed on top, preheat your broiler and finish soups for a minute or two under it. Serve immediately.

 

 

 

Old Reliable" French Bread (for Kitchen Aid Mixers)

Units: US | Metric

• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups water (105F to 115 F)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon melted margarine or 1 tablespoon butter
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl.

Add salt, butter, and flour.

Attach bowl& dough hook to mixer, turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute or until well blended.

Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Dough will be sticky.

Put dough in large greased bowl, turning to coat.

Cover and let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and divide in half.

Roll each half into 12" x 15" rectangle.

Roll dough tightly, from longest side, tapering ends, if needed/wanted.

Put loaves on greased baking sheets that have been dusted with cornmeal.

Cover and let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

With sharp knife, make 4 diagonal cuts on top of each loaf.

Bake at 450F for 25 minutes, then remove from oven.

Beat egg white and water together and brush each loaf with this mix.

Return to the oven and bake 5 minutes longer.

Immediately remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/old-reliable-french-bread-for-kitchen-aid-mixers-52289#ixzz1YjbKkzNW

The Comfort of Tomato Soup

I took a long, hard hike this morning, and all I wanted at the end (besides a hot shower) was tomato soup.  I love Campbell's tomato soup, but felt like making some homemade.  After going to my neighborhood parents house and not finding tomato paste, I went over to neighborhood Walmart.  I really didn't want to shop, I was tired and looked like a homeless person, but away I went.  The ingredients are simple, and it takes no time at all.  Be careful with the garlic salt, it can be too strong if you use too much.  Enjoy some warm, deliciousness!  

Easy Homemade Tomato Soup

 

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 cup water

2 cups milk

½ tsp garlic salt

2 ½ Tbsp sugar

¼ tsp salt (or to taste)

Put all ingredients in a soup pot and simmer together.  Serve nice and hot topped with crackers and cheese!!! (or whatever topping you like)

Pozole!!

I have been craving pozole for some time.  My friend Curtis posted a picture of what he made on facebook, and it took me over the edge from craving to doing.  He sent me his recipe, and I combined it, with one I already had to create my own version.  Yeehaw!!  so I chopped and cooked, all while watching Muppets take Manhattan, for comidic flare.  I used roasted poblano peppers that I had bought at a farmers market, but roasted green chilies would have been awesome also.  So here is what I created.  Enjoy!!!

Pozole

• 1 rotisserie chicken shredded
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• ½ onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 4 cups white hominy, drained and rinsed 
• 3 -5 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup  chili verde sauce
• 2 whole roasted poblano chilies or 3 roasted green chilies
• ¼ cup green onions chopped
• 1 tomato bouillon

• Chop the onion and sauté until soft. 
• Peel and chop the 2 garlic cloves, and add to the onion.
• Chop the chilies and add it and the hominy and chicken to the pot.
• Cook for a little bit, then add salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, green onions, chili verde sauce, broth and tomato bouillon.
• 13 Cook at a simmer, covered, for 45 to 60 minutes until the hominy is tender.
• 14 If necessary, cook for up to an additional 60 minutes until the chilies and onions are well blended into the broth.

Update

oregano from my herb garden!

Wind+Rain+Lightning=Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

Yes, I am a soupaholic.  I find that it is the perfect meal when you are super busy and need super fast, filling and healthy food.  I also like barley, like a lot and loads of vegetables.  So on this, pretend like this is fall, evening, I souped it up! (oh and I have been grading for several hours, and the rule is, grade, cook, grade, bake, grade, nap, grade, hot bath, grade, swirly.....etc....so I am in the first round...this will be an interesting weekend  5 papers done...70 left to go!!!!  So soup it up!!

Sara’s Best Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

To make the meat:

Preheat oven to 400

1 2.5 chuck roast, salt and peppered and browned                              

1 onion sliced

1 Serrano pepper, chopped in large chunks

4-5 garlic, crushed and stuck into meat

Place meat in roasting pan add onion pepper around the roast.  Fill halfway up the roast with water.

Put the roasting pan in the oven and turn down to 300 and cook for 2.25 hours.

Vegetable Soup

 

Chop and sauté one onion and a couple cloves of garlic.

Chop up roughly:                                                                                                

3 carrots

2 stalks of celery                                                                                         

2 zucchini

1 peppers

1 medium bunch of fresh green beans snipped into thirds

Add to the onions and cook down for 7-8 minutes on medium-high heat.

 

Add to it:

5-6 cups beef broth

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

2 small cans v-8 or 1 large

¼- ½  cup barley (depending on your barley preference)

1 small head of cabbage chopped into quarters                                     

Simmer together for 20 minutes.

When roast comes out, chop or shred it, and add it to the stew, then add ice to the broth and skim off fat and add broth and Serrano pepper chunks to the stew.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Delish!    

                                                     

Fire Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

I first had fire roasted tomato soup at Paradise Bakery, then at Zona 78 I had tomato basil soup, so I decided, why not fire roasted tomato basil soup, with roasted red peppers.  Sounds interesting?  It is!!!  Healthy, tasty, and fun, is there anything better than that?  Oh, yes, there is, the chocolate, white chocolate chip cookies...that is actually what I was eating while the making of this soup, but I also ate the soup!!!  Eat away!!

 Fire Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
1 onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
28 oz can San Marzano whole tomatoes                                        
14 oz can Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes
8 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can v-8 juice

2 oz of roasted red peppers
4 cups water
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper                                                                      
2 cups milk

¼ cup basil, torn or chopped into small pieces

½  cup spinach

In a dutch oven saute onion in olive oil until almost translucent. Add garlic and continue to saute a few minutes more. Add tomatoes, sauce, juice and paste, red peppers, basil as well as water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in blender, or with immersion blender until desired consistency. (I like mine slightly chunky but you should puree until your hearts content) Add milk and seasonings and continue to simmer for another 5 or 1o minutes.  For extra flavor I sometimes add 1 Tbsp or so of chicken bouillon.

Yummy and Easy Together in Broccoli Cheese Soup!

You can probably tell I have an obsession with soups. I like to make one a week, for a healthy, easy, fast meal during the week, when I don't have a lot of time to cook or eat. This one is super easy, and very tasty. It starts off the way most of my meals do...sauteing onion and garlic. My momma always used to tell me and my girlfriends, that to make a husband happy when he came home from work, was to have an onion sauteing, and even if you had no idea what you were going to make, it gave him hope that a meal was forthcoming and he could then go happily off doing other things, and leave you to figure out what was next without input. Whew!!! Awesome run-on sentence...or stream of consciousness in my case :) Of course the cheese is an essential component. I always choose to be the cheese grater/taster...I am really good at testing!! The broccoli is from my bountiful basket. I have a lot of meals to make in the next couple days, I need to use my bountiful basket bounty in fun ways before the week and 12-16 hour work days begin!! woohoo!! So keep eating!!!

Sara’s Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 lg head broccoli cut up

½ cup butter or margarine

1 med onion, chopped

½ cup flour

Salt and pepper to taste

2-cups milk

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup medium Cheddar cheese, grated ( umm....and then add even more, cheese is awesome.)

Cook broccoli pieces in small amount of water.  Sauté onions in butter until transparent. Add flour.  Add milk slowly, stirring continually.  Stir in cheese and blend until smooth.  Slowly blend chicken broth into mixture.  Add broccoli.  Stir to mix well and season to taste.  Simmer about 15 minutes.

Added pictures of my bountiful baskets bounty...because it is pretty.

The Mother of all Gazpacho

I had never even heard of Gazpacho until a few years ago when I had a tomato and pepper garden and no idea what to do with all the tomatoes and peppers.  My mom suggested gazpacho..."cold tomato soup?" I queried incredulously, you have to be kidding.  She wasn't, and being the dutiful...okay, curious daughter that I am, I made it for her, and have made it every summer since.  I base mine off of the America's Test Kitchen recipe, because it is the best.  I like my gazpacho like myself, happily chunky.  Once again I use my favorite secret ingredient, which is not so secret, and ask you to enjoy the Mother of all Gazpacho and party on Garth!

Chunky Gazpacho

(which doesn't have to be chunky if you don't want it to be...all you have to do is blenderize  it! yes I know blenderize is not a word, but slenderize and tenderize are, so I vote for blenderize!!! )

4-5 ripe tomatoes cored and cut into 1/4-inch cubes   

1 large red bell pepper cored, seeded, and cut into slices  then into 1/4-inch cubes  

1 large cucumber peeled and the and  seeded and cut into 1/4-inch cubes

½ small sweet onion 

3 medium cloves  garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press

1 teaspoons  table salt   

1/3 cup  vinegar, sherry or my personal favorite, red wine vinegar

ground black pepper 

5-6 cups  tomato juice   

1 to 11/2 teaspoon  hot pepper sauce depending on how much spice you like,  my secret ingredient and makes you come back for more, Chipotle Tabasco sauce 

8 ice cubes 

extra-virgin olive oil for serving

**this time I also added on finely chopped celery stalk, finely chopped carrot, and not so finely chopped, but heavily sampled avocado.

**serve with cubed French bread or garlic croutons.

1. Combine the tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, garlic, salt, vinegar, and pepper in a large (at least 4-quart) nonreactive bowl. Let stand until the vegetables just begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes. I like to let it sit for even longer, like 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomato juice, hot pepper sauce, if using, and ice cubes. Cover tightly and refrigerate to blend flavors, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

2. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper and remove and discard any unmelted ice cubes. Serve cold, drizzling each portion with about 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil and topping with the desired garnishes.