Parmesan Tomato Soup

I made soup for the very first time tonight! My mother-in-law gave us her blender, so I'm going to be putting it to good use- starting with this soup! It has a very mild flavor, thanks to the cheese and half and half, so it's less acidic (and therefore much nicer for me to eat) than store-bought tomato soup!

Parmesan Tomato Soup (serves 6-8)


What You'll Need: 

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen)
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 finely diced onion
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups broth (we prefer using vegetable, but chicken would also be a good choice)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup grated or shaved Parmesan
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper

How to Make It: 

Add the tomatoes, carrots, onion, tomato paste, broth, and herbs to a slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours. When there are about 30 minutes of cook time left, melt the butter in a saucepan. Slowly add the flour, and whisk constantly about 10 minutes to make a roux. Very slowly and carefully, add 1 cup of the soup to the roux and whisk- it will make a paste, but it will also let off a lot of steam, so watch your hands! After the soup is incorporated and a thick paste has formed, add another three cups of warm soup to the mixture, and whisk to combine. Return this thickened soup mixture to the slow cooker, and stir it in. Add the half and half, Parmesan, salt ,and pepper to taste, and stir everything to combine it well. Before serving, blend the soup with an immersion blender or a standing blender (you may have to do this in batches if you're using a regular blender) and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the slow cooker and set on "warm" until you're ready to serve it!

Creamy Tomato Pasta Bake

I think this is what some people would call a "weeknight dinner." It's easy and pretty cheap, and doesn't take long to prepare. It tasted good, too- much better than just plan pasta and marinara! This is adapted from a recipe I found on pinterest. 

What You'll Need: 

1 16 oz box tubular pasta (I used maltagliati)
1 jar marinara (I used a roasted garlic and onion flavor- I like chunky sauce!)
1 jar alfredo
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Grated parmesan
1 packet Italian dressing mix, optional

How to Make It: 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (I set mine to 425 degrees because I heated up frozen garlic breadsticks to serve with the meal. You can always adjust the cooking time if you'd like to do something similar.) In a large bowl, combine the two sauces and 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella. Shake in some of the grated parmesan and the dressing mix, if you're using it, and stir to combine completely. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the sauce mixture. Stir to coat all the noodles, and pour everything into a 9x13 pan. Top the pasta with the remaining shredded cheese, and some extra parmesan if you'd like. Throw it in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the whole dish is heated through.

Black Beans and Rice

These are so yummy!

What You'll Need:

4 standard-sized cans black beans

1/2 yellow onion

6 cloves garlic

1 bunch cilantro

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 cups whole grain brown rice

Diced avocados, for serving

Sour cream, for serving

Tortilla chips, for serving

How to Make It:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Heat the black beans over medium-high heat (drain very little of the juice.) Chop the onion and cilantro, mince the garlic, and place these in a small saucepan and saute. After the beans have been heated for about 20 minutes, stir the sauteed ingredients into the black beans. In a separate pot, begin preparing the rice according to package instructions. Pour the beans into a 13x9 baking dish and top with the shredded cheese. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Serve the black beans and rice with avocado (if you're into that), sour cream, and tortilla chips.