Tonight, I decided to opt for the latter.. one of my favorites- Roasted Tomato Basil. This soup is super easy, really inexpensive, and can be multi-purposed for spaghetti sauce or chicken Parmesan later. It also freezes really well to save for one of those "no-cook Sunday night dinners."
Here's a quick recipe:
Roasted Tomato Basil with Parmesan
Ingredients:
5 Roma tomatoes, sliced in half (you can also use really any tomato, these happened to be on sale)
2 small onions, roughly sliced
1 whole pod of garlic (8-10 cloves)
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large can diced, roasted tomatoes
1 small can, tomato paste
1/4 c- 1/2 c Heavy Whipping Cream - depending on how creamy you like it (you can substitute this for vegetable stock if you're going cream or dairy free)
small handful of cracked black pepper and salt
*throw in some Italian Seasoning (Marjoram, Oregano, Basil, Thyme) if you have any on hand
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Throw the first 5 ingredients in a cast-iron pot, toss together, and roast (uncovered) in the oven for 45 minutes or until vegetables are caramelized and tomatoes are roasted.
Veggies in the pot before roasting
Remove from oven and stir in remaining ingredients (canned, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, heavy cream or stock, and seasoning), and stick back in the oven for another 45 minutes (covered) at 350 degrees.
I like to top this soup with a little handful of Parmesan and thinly sliced fresh basil with a side of croutons for dipping. What a perfect Friday night... now I'm trying to decide between St Elmo's Fire and a couple episodes of Season 4, Dawson's Creek :)
Stay dry, y'all!
