To Die For??? :P

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Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows how much I hate that phrase. I have joked before that as much of a foodie as I am (albeit a foodie with a crappy appetite who has to be forced to eat half the time lol) I can’t think of any foods that I would be willing to die for. Not even a medium rare ribeye with potato wedges and roasted brussel sprouts, which is my all time favorite meal (what btw, is YOUR favorite meal??? Tell me in comments section? 🙂 ). I may be willing to be seriously wounded for it (so long as my knife and fork skills aren’t ruined) but no dying. I just can’t think of any food worth dying for.

But there are some foods that I love enough (when I bother to eat 😛 ) to consider using the phrase. Twinkies and Cheetos of course. You didn’t know THAT was coming I bet did you? Hehe. Sushi is another; I LOVE sushi though if anyone ever tries to get me to eat the kind with raw eel in it, they are, as my dad would have said, “cruisin’ for a bruisin’. EWWWW!!!!! GOOD chocolate (we’re not talking Hershey bars here though there is a time and a place for them too) is something to think about using silly phrases for. Buy me a pound of Godiva (or twelve) and I’ll think about it. Buy me more and I may ask you to marry me. Just don’t tell my husband. He can be a bit touchy about that for some reason. Silly man. I’d share the Godiva. Maybe.

But this following recipe is so utterly delicious, so supremely satisfying and so summery (even with the use of canned tomatoes) that I actually thought about using the phrase “to die for”. I didn’t of course; I have my standards but I THOUGHT about it! That right there should tell you how wonderful this is.

I have only been to the restaurant this soup is purported to have been cloned from two times and I thought the food was passable but nothing worth writing home about. I had not however had this soup. I have made this a couple of times for my family and even my picky kids love it. This is creamy and tomatoey (again; now a word 😛 ), bursting with the flavor of fresh Basil with a mild sweet edge that helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Summer or Winter, this is a winner. So give it a try. Even in this hot weather, this is SO good!

This is adapted from a recipe on top secret recipes.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup minced onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic (I used considerably more of this and the onion)
  • 2 28 ounce cans (good quality) crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cups (good quality) chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup minced fresh basil (you can sub the pureed basil that comes in tubes in the produce section)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh parsley (I omitted this because I didn’t have any & I saw no difference)
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (optional. The original recipe didn’t have this but I added it)
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 3 to 4 minutes until softened.
  2. Add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn heat off and let cool for up to an hour.
  3. Pour half the mixture in a blender (hold lid down with a towel if the soup is at all hot so the lid doesn’t fly off). Blend on high speed for about a minute and pour into a large bowl. Do the same with the second half (I actually don’t do that because I like a little bit of texture in the soup). Add all the soup back to the pot and add the remaining ingredients. Bring the soup back up to a low bubble then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish with desired toppings. I use Parmesan cheese and some julienned basil.
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40 thoughts on “To Die For??? :P”

  1. You read my mind!

    I’ve been thinking I need to learn to make tomato soup – the commercial stuff has so much sugar in it that it’s disgusting. And without good tomato soup, what am I going to dip my grilled cheese in? Well, what?

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  3. My list of favorite foods is too long to list, but twinkies is definitely not on it! LOL! We just picked about 20 tomatoes from our garden and I’m “dying” to make a good tomato soup – this looks fabulous!

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  5. I have so many tomatoes coming from the garden, I will try this!! Favorite meal… Cheese stuff Meatloaf with smashed potatoes.

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  6. I love tomato soup – and that is to die for! My favorite meal would probably be a big, juicy cheeseburger, really hot fries and a cold, cold diet coke!

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    • Lindsey, this is a great way to use up some of those tomatoes. I love fresh tomatoes but you can’t get good ones all year so this is a great sub. I hope you like it 🙂

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  8. I’ve never met a meal worth croaking over but Thanksgiving comes close. All my favorites in one place and permission to gorge because “it’s a holiday” and “everyone does it.” 🙂

    Lovely soup.

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  12. What a great soup recipe! Tomatoes and basil are coming on in our garden … guess I’ll ‘save’ this one to try in a week or two! Thanks! – and,
    favorite meal? I just made it and posted about it … spaghetti and white clam sauce with some Pinot grigio! Pasta … you just can’t beat it in my book!

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.

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    • You’ll have to let me know how it turns out. I haven’t yet made it with fresh tomatoes though I keep meaning to 🙂

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  15. When I was a little girl and every other mom was feeding her kids chicken noodle soup on sick days, my mom broke out the Campbell’s Tomato soup. I think because of that, I love tomato soup; it just seems so comforting. 🙂

    This looks like a terrific recipe, and the next time I’m longing for a little TLC, I’ll be trying it out. 🙂

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  16. I LOVE tomato basil soup. I’ve never made it at home before so thanks for the recipe! My all time favorite meal would have to be a giant stack of pancakes, the ones that have had a little splash of orange juice to the batter. Whew… what glory. Can’t you just see them now? Stacked high with butter and warmed syrup running down the sides? Oh, yum. Too bad I rarely ever allow myself to indulge is such a caloric nightmare. 🙂

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  18. I just love homemade tomato basil soup and just did my own post about it made from my garden’s tomatoes and basil…..and yes, you’re right….it is so delicious! I’m inviting you to stop on over and share this recipe post over on my weekend thru Monday foodie blog hope where I feature 8 bloggers weekly!

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  20. I love tomato basil soup and have tried many different modifications to get a good adult version of this classic. I will try this as soon as it is soup weather again. (And, funny you should mention cheetos. As kids, we used to “garnish” our canned tomato soup with cheetos!)

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