Meatless March Meal #2: Slow Cooker Roast Tomato-Basil Soup

Crock Pot Roast Tomato-Basil Soup

I found this recipe in my Crock Pot cookbook and thought I'd give it a try. My husband loves the Tomato-Basil soup at Zupas, so I'm always looking for a good substitute recipe since we live a couple thousand miles away from the nearest one.

I'd give this recipe maybe a 7 out of 10. It was good, but it also take a lot of work and time. BUT here's the recipe in case you want to give it a go. I might suggest adding garlic. And it might taste better to use fresh basil. I didn't have time.

Total time: 60 minutes prep time; 8 hour cook time

Ingredients
2 cans (28 oz. each) peeled whole tomatoes, drained with liquid reserved
2 1/2 T dark brown sugar (packed)
1 med. onion (chopped)
3 C chicken broth
3 T tomato paste
1/2 t ground allspice
1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1/4 C shredded fresh basil (abt 10 large leaves)
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and arrange tomatoes flat on the sheet.

2. Sprinkle brown sugar and onions. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tomatoes look dry and light and brown. {P.S. this will make your house smell like heaven. Truth}

3. Let them cool a bit (so you don't burn yourself). Finely chop. {I used my chopping thing, sorry I don't know the technical name. But it made the chopping much easier.}

4. Then toss into the Crock Pot and mix in the reserved liquid from the tomatoes {I only got 2 cups from it though, maybe I did something wrong}, chicken broth, tomato paste, and allspice. Make sure to stir! Cover, cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

5. {After the 8 hours}, add evaporated milk and basil; season with salt and pepper. Cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.

Enjoy! I made some Parmesan Cheddar biscuits {similar to Red Lobster's}. I used Tastefully Simple {they were OK, but I won't buy these again}. Maybe you can try this recipe.