Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque

Happy New Year! 2018 has rushed in at a balmy zero degrees Fahrenheit, and what better way to warm up than with this seriously amazing creamy tomato bisque?

I've been exhausted lately, so I've been fairly quiet on the blogging front. That's not to say that I haven't been cooking up a storm (just check out my instagram), even though the holidays knocked me off of the healthy train for a few days.

So, today I dove back in with an awesome tomato bisque. The original recipe is by Debi at Lifecurrents, but my adaptation is below.

I had every intention of making this a slow cooker dinner, but you know how that goes... I'm 15 minutes away on the interstate heading to the office when it dawns on me that I never actually put anything in the crockpot. Oops.

Luckily, this wasn't too difficult, and with a few chopped veggies and a whirl with the immersion blender, this was an amazingly filling and delicious dinner.

You can make your own grilled cheese anyway you like to pair with this tomato soup, but we used Udi's gluten free bread and lots of cheddar.

Creamy Tomato Bisque

• 28 oz petite diced tomatoes
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 4-6 carrots (depending on size) peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tsp herbs provence
• 1 tsp salt
• dash of black pepper
• 1 bayleaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and sliced into smaller pieces
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup gluten free flour
• 2 cups half and half or cream (I used 1 cup of each, as that is what I had on hand)
• 3/4-1 cup shredded parmesan

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, add the undrained can of tomatoes, broth, chopped carrots, onion, spices and bayleaf. Bring to a boil on high, then reduce heat to medium and cover, letting it cook until the carrots are soft.
2. Use the immersion blender to blend soup until the vegetables are smaller. Do not completely puree-- smaller chunks are fine and add a nice texture to the soup.
3. Cover the soup and let simmer. 
4. While the soup is simmering, add oil and butter to a small pot and heat until the butter is melted. Be careful not to let it burn, and whisk as it is melting.
5. Slowly the flour a bit at a time, whisking constantly until you have a roux (all of the flour is blended into the butter mixture).
6. Slowly pour the flour and butter mixture into the soup a third at a time, stirring in between pours until well blended.
7. Add the cream and parmesan cheese, and mix until well blended. Cover and let it heat until hot, stirring every few minutes so that the cheese does not clump.
8. Enjoy!