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There was a time when absolutely nothing could convince me to eat tomato soup.

Not even goldfish crackers.

The soup just ruined the crackers as far as I was concerned.

Red mystery substance that tasted like…not tomatoes?

Ick.

For those of you who swear by canned tomato soup…let me convert you.

I’m amazed by how easy this is.

Do you have a can of crushed tomatoes in your pantry?

If you do, then you ALSO have tomato soup!

Soup from a can that says crushed tomatoes is WAY better than the stuff from the can that says tomato soup.

For. Real.

Plus people will think you’re fancy because you MADE tomato soup.

I won’t tell if you won’t….there’s nothing fancy/difficult/gourmet about this.

It just tastes that way =)

So! Time me.  Ready. Set. GO!

First: cook up some onions

Throw in a little thyme while you’re at it!

I had some mushrooms leftover and decided that would be good too.

It was.

That’s happening every time now.

Next comes tomatoes + milk

I’m not a huge creamy soup fan but the half cup of milk gives it juuuuust the right touch

Then all you do is stir in some pesto and let it heat through.

Seriously. That’s all.

Awesome right?

Even awesome-er with hunks of bread spread with a bit of pesto, topped with Parmesan cheese, and broiled.

((I used cheddar garlic bread from Great Harvest!  Cheating? Maybe. Also delicious.))

Dunk a hunk of crusty cheesy bread in a mug full of steaming soup

Look at those chunks of mushroom, onion and tomato!

Look at that cheese!

That DEFINITELY tastes like tomato.

And it only took you like half an hour if you’re slow!!

What rainy day?

Suddenly it’s warm in here.

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Easiest Tomato Soup Ever

About half an onion

About 1 cup chopped mushrooms

28oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup milk or cream

3 tablespoons pesto

salt and thyme to taste

1. Saute onions with thyme in a large pot until the onions are soft and transparent

2.  Add mushrooms to the pan and cook until softened

2. Add the tomatoes, water and cream, simmer 20 minutes

3. Stir in pesto at the end

Notes:

• You could puree the final product if you want but I prefer chunky soup
• The crushed tomatoes, water and milk are the only necessaries here.  That could be the whole deal if you like it that way.  You could add anything you want.  Garlic?  Crushed red? A million other vegetables? Whatever.  Go crazy!  Let me know if you hit on a winner

Special thanks to our guest photographer!  The one and only Daniel. Thanks for the action shots!

So the other day Daniel came home raving about this pumpkin black bean soup he got for lunch somewhere.

His description left me a little suspicious.

I was still suspicious when I found a recipe… it seemed odd.

Pumpkin? Tomato? Cumin? Cinnamon?

Are we having pumpkin pie or Mexican food?

I just don’t know.

Still…

challenge accepted.

He was SO right!

I am struggling to find to words to express my love for this soup right now.

Despite the divine smells that filled my house I was suspicious all the way until I tried my first spoonful.

The cinnaspicy pumpkinfallsplosion that filled my mouth left zero doubt in my mind….

New favorite soup!!

PLEASE make this. I need you to understand the joy.

Soup’s up!

Hats off to these guys…the main characters

They get by with a little help from their friends

Plus a GENIUS blend of spices.

Fragrant is the only word that comes to mind.

To the max are some more words I’m thinking.

I wish you could smell this.

Don’t forget the beans!

Mashed a little.

With a whisk.

Judge not.

Everything cooks together and you end up with an unbelievable soup.

Seriously…I wish you had smell-o-vision.

Favorite soup.  Favorite mug.  Favorite guy for bringing this to my life.

And you are my favorite people.

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Recipe slightly adapted from Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup

You Need:

4 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 GENEROUS Tablespoon ground cumin (you know how I feel about cumin..)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice (I used a combination of nutmeg and cloves instead)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cans black beans (15 oz each), drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Salt to taste

1. In a large pot heat the oil until shiny, then turn to medium low. Add the onion, garlic, cumin, kosher salt, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, and cayenne and stir often until the onion has softened. About 3 to 4 minutes.

2.  Add the puree, pumpkin and broth to the pot.

3. Simmer uncovered until thick, stirring often while scraping the bottom, about 30 minutes or until desired thickness. Salt to taste and garnish as desired.

**Note: I have some real life for you…No I did not have enough bouillon cubes left for 4 cups of broth.  Yes I did decide that Adobo worked just fine. It did.

**Also: the cayenne gives it just the right spicy level.  It’s not overpowering but there is a nice little kick.  Not necessary, though, if you’re not a spicy person