:: Thursday's Recipe Rodeo ::

This is the place to get some new recipes or maybe even a twist on an old one. Feel free to take any recipe here and try it out. If you want to join in on the Recipe Rodeo, let me know! I would love to try some of your recipes too!

Today's Round Up: Soup

I wanted to make use of the tomatoes that we had and came across a great recipe for tomato bisque on this website. I love tomato soup, especially on a cool autumn night. This recipe is delicious, relatively easy to make, and very healthy. We made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it and it was the perfect pairing! The only thing I may do differently next time is to add a bit more sour cream to enhance the creaminess.

Fresh Tomato Bisque

* 1 tbsp butter
* 1 medium onion
* 1 cup chopped carrots
* 1 celery stalk
* 3 cloves garlic
* 30 oz fresh plum (Roma) tomatoes, peeled (I cut an X on the end and blanch them for easy peeling)
* 32 oz fat free chicken broth (I use Trader Joe's low sodium)
* 3 sprigs parsley
* 10 basil leaves
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 tbsp reduced fat sour cream
* salt and pepper, to taste (definitely needs a fair amount of salt)
* Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Directions

Chop onions, carrots, celery and garlic using a mini food processor or chopper. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add butter until melted, then add chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook stirring often until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add chicken broth and tomatoes, stirring well.

Using a string or a rubber band, tie herbs together and drop into the soup. This will make it easy to remove later. Add salt and fresh pepper, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

Remove herbs and discard, add sour cream and blend with a hand blender until smooth. (A regular blender would work, but be sure to let the soup cool before blending and fill only halfway in the blender so it doesn't explode on you). Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated cheese and fresh basil. Enjoy!
If you want to join in on your own blog, simply link back to this blog and mention that you are partaking in Thursday's Recipe Rodeo. If you don't have a blog and want to share a recipe with us - leave it in the comments!Click here for a printable version of Fresh Tomato Bisque