Yummy Creamy Tomato Soup

Ok I am the first to admit, I hated tomato soup until recently. But that is because the only tomato soup I had ever exposed myself to was Campbells Tomato soup-YUCK! I use it for recipes, but to eat by itself, not a fan. So I recently ventured out and tried some tomato basil soup at the Orbits Cafeteria (my work cafeteria) of all places and it was good! I thought to  myself I could make that. It actually reminded me alot of the Penne ala Betsey I made recently. So I went to all my favorite cooking websites and searched for a creamy tomato soup recipe. I found one I thought I would give a try on Tasty Kitchen. If you haven't checked that website out you should, I have found several awesome recipes there! You can get to it from The Pioneer Womans website. So I made this soup, loved it.  I could not not get Phil to try it, no surprise there,  but my sister came in town the day after I made it and she LOVED it. She ate a couple bowls of it, it's that good! When I ate it, I made myself a grilled swiss cheese sandwich to go with it and it was a perfect combo!

Creamy Tomato Soup- adapted from Tasty Kitchen

2-15 oz cans of whole tomatoes ( I used 1 large 28oz can)
1 can (15oz) of condensed tomato soup
1 6oz can tomato paste
3 C. chicken broth
1/4 cup finely diced white onion
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 pint heavy cream
1 pinch basil to taste ( you could also use fresh basil )
1 pinch oregano to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded parm cheese for garnish

In a large pot over medium heat sautee the onion in the butter until the onions are clear. Add tomato paste and stir, work in the butter and onion to the paste. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring well to combine. Add  the condensed soup and stir well. Add half of the canned tomatoes, stirring well after each addition. Place the other half of the tomatoes in foor processor or blender and pulse until smooth, now add to the soup. Turn heat up to med-high and add the heavy cream and all the spices. Taste frequently to check if you need more spices, better to start off with less and add more if you need it. Let soup simmer for 20-25 minutes before serving. Serve with grilled cheese or crusty french bread. Top soup with some shredded parmesean cheese too!

A few changes I made to the recipe is that I put all the whole tomatoes in the blender, I didn't want the soup to be chunky. Also next time I make it, I am subbing tomato sauce for the condensed tomato soup.

Enjoy!

My sweet boy says the funniest things!

Many of you may know the struggle we have had with Burke. He has/had a pretty severe speech delay. He received speech, OT and special instruction from First Steps for 18 months. He has made tremendous progress in the speech department. There are times he says something so funny and inappropriate I cannot help but laugh, I know I should correct him, but it is so hard because there were times I never thought I would get to hear him say these things. I absolutely LOVE to hear him talk, I love the sound of his voice and how he says things. I truly am thankful that he has made such tremendous progress. So here are a few things he has said recently that seriously make me bust out laughing. He really has developed the cutest personality and I love it!

He and Phil were horsing around and he bumped his head. He then turned to me and said "Mom, I need my spiderman medicine!". I started laughing and said "What?". He then said "MOM! I need my spiderman tylenol!" I never knew they made spiderman tylenol, but apparently in Burke's world they do.

Burke loves to watch commercials. Every time a commercial comes on for a toy he yells out to Phil and I, "I want that for Christmas!!" It's hilarious. Phil and I just shake our heads and say "Ok". Recently he has been paying closer attention to all the commercials because he will come running into the kitchen saying "MOM! come see this on the t.v." So I go into the living room and he proceeds to say "Mom, do you want that for Christmas?". These items he has asked me about are  the "Bump-it", the "Ab-Roller" and some rejuvinating face cream. Really? I mean do I need that much help that my 3 year old is asking me if I need these things?!?! I just tell him "Yes Burke, mommy wants that for Christmas" and all the while hope that he does not remember these things at christmas time!

Homeade Chicken Pot Pie.....my ultimate comfort food!

My ultimate comfort food. I grew up eating frozen pot pies and honestly loved them, until I made one from scratch. I will never eat a frozen one again. I think the hardest part for me was learning to make the roux which is the base for the sauce. I always fear that it will be lumpy. I have finally done well with it and very rarely have lumps. This may be daunting to some (it was to me!), but I think everyone should try it, it is fantastic!

Classic Chicken Pot Pie- adapted from Pillsbury

1 box refrigerated pie crusts
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1/2 Cup milk
2 cups chopped cooked chicken ( I usually use 2-3 chicken breasts)
2 cups frozen peas and carrots
1 potato diced

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 425.
In a large deep skillet, melt butter and sautee onion until tender. Add flour, salt and pepper. Stir with a whisk, until thickened. Slowly add milk and stir vigorously, lumps may appear, but as you add liquid you can usually get rid of them. Add broth, continue stirring until well mixed. Sauce will thicken gradually. When thickened, add veggies, potatoes and chicken.

Place 1st pie crust in pie dish, add filling, top with 2nd pie crust. Seal edges and cut slits in top of crust. Bake 30-40 minutes until crust is golden brown. If edges are getting brown, may add foil to the crust edges to prevent browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!