Slow Cooker Creamy Parmesan Tomato Basil Soup #SecretRecipeClub

Welcome to Secret Recipe Club March reveal! 

This month I was assigned Sarah's blog, Well Dined. Sarah is a wife and mother (and former Willaims and Sonoma Demonstrator), and loves cooking for her family. Many of her recipes are seasonal and she has a lovely variety of delicious recipes- I hardly knew where to start!  I was initially eyeing up her recipe for Balsamic Honey Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Vegetable Alfredo Pasta and was pretty settled on the pasta, but she recently posted a recipe for Slow Cooker Parmesan Tomato Soup. I was sold because I knew my family would love it with a big gooey grilled cheese sandwich! I also knew this would be a great way to have the chance to freeze a few quarts for when Baby Boy arrives! 

My family loved this soup. I opted to blend my soup with my immersion blender, but the original recipe does not call for this step. I like my tomato soup on the smooth side, but I am sure both ways are delicious. I loved the ease of dumping everything into the slowcooker and letting it do all the work for me. I had not tried many slowcooker soups and this one was a winner! Since  I blended it I didn't worry too much about the size of my veggie cuts either, but if you are not blending it would be important to take the time to make sure they are nice and small. The combination of the tomato and basil is fantastic, and the added cheese- yum! This recipe is certainly a keeper in our house!

Thank you Sarah for a fantastic new recipe! Check out the round-up below for more fantastic recipes! 

Ingredients

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced onions

4 cups chicken broth 

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp dried basil

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup flour 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups whole milk

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, chicken broth, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. Using an immersion blender blend the soup till smooth. This is not required, but will give the soup a smooth texture which I prefer, but keep as is if you prefer a chunky texture. 

About 30 minutes before serving, melt butter over low heat in a saucepan and whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two.  Slowly whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth.

Add to the vegetables along with the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.  

Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve. 

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