Easy Creamy Tomato Soup

I love tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwich...who doesn't? But I am not a fan of canned soups. Here is a quick and easy way to make Creamy Tomato Soup that's delicious and goes great with your favorite grilled cheese sandwich! Yes, the ingredients do come from a can, but the flavors are still better than a pre-made canned soup! Trust me, one day, I will update this post with a version for fresh tomatoes, but it will likely take longer and it'll still need tomato paste.  Make a big batch and freeze, so you always have this delicious soup ready in a pinch!

(not my pic)

Sorry for the lack of pictures...I'll be sure to take some next time and update this post!

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium sweet onion, coarsely chopped

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes in their juices, preferably San Marzano

1 can tomato paste

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once butter foams, add onion and a big pinch of salt. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is completely soft and just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.

Add tomatoes and juices to the pan and stir to crush up tomatoes. Add broth or water, tomato paste and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Simmer until tomatoes begin to fall apart, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and allow soup to cool slightly. Carefully purée soup in a blender until smooth (you may have to do this in batches).

Return soup to the stove over low heat and stir in cream. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

My favorite topping for this soup is Goat Cheese...I love goat cheese and the richness adds so much depth to the flavor!

Quick Spinach Alfredo with Bacon and Peas

This is my cousin's recipe that is always quick and easy to make and can feed a whole lot or last a whole week!

Ingredients:

2 jars Alfredo sauce

1 package pre-cooked breakfast sausage

1 package pre-cooked bacon

12 oz bag of frozen spinach

12 oz bag of frozen peas

12 oz box of vegetable bow tie pasta

Directions:

Slice the sausage and bacon into bite size pieces.

Cook the pasta as directed. Set aside.

Empty the jars of Alfredo sauce in a large pot and put on low.

Add the sliced sausage and bacon.

Add the frozen spinach.

Add the frozen peas.

Cook until thoroughly heated.

Add cooked pasta and mix well.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat of preference

1 lb of fresh mushrooms

2 jars of your favorite brand spaghetti sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

2-3 zucchinis - sliced thin lengthwise

3 cups ricotta cheese

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (stay away from fake cheese, it'll make your lasagna oily)

2 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan

Salt & pepper to taste

Red pepper flakes, if you want to try it spicy

Directions:

Mix ricotta, mozzarella and eggs in a bowl. Set aside.

To speed up the cooking process and soften the zucchini, I boiled the sliced pieces for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Heat up some oil and soften onions.  Add some Italian seasoning.

Cook & season ground meat in saucepan. Add mushrooms before the meat browns. Cook together and drain any excess fat. Stir in sauce and tomatoes.

Spread meat sauce at bottom of crockpot.

Top with zucchini layer, then spread cheese mixture on top.

Repeat layers and top with Parmesan.

Leave in crockpot on high for a couple of hours. Lasagna is best made the day before so everything has a chance to set.

Easy Zucchini Pizza Bites

Ingredients:

Zucchini - sliced into disks

Pizza Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese - shredded

Directions:

Spray cooking spray on cookie sheet. Arrange sliced zucchini on the cookie sheet.

Spoon pizza sauce on each piece of zucchini.  

Add mozzarella on top and put in oven.

***Toaster Oven Instructions***

I used my toaster oven, which I preheated to 400 degrees. When I saw the cheese started melting, I lowered the heat to 350-300, to cook the zucchini without burning the cheese. I just kept an eye on them and pulled out when the sauce looked like it dried up a bit.