Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup

So.... you all know that I'm really bad at following directions.  And I didn't have any real garlic Monday night when I was making this soup.  I pretty much use the chopped jarred stuff exclusively.  I can't understand why you'd want to spend all that time peeling and chopping garlic when the stuff in the $5 jar from Casa Italiana is so much easier to use.

But I suppose when your first direction is to "roast the garlic" and the recipe even calls for "roasted" you should probably have some on hand.  I don't, I skipped that step and roasted just the onion.  And it was fine.  Really.  You can get all fancy if you want to, but the chopped stuff is just fine.

Anyway- here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

6 large garlic cloves, slightly flattened
6 onzes shallots, peeled and halved  2tablespoon olive oil 
2(14 1/2-ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
3 cups chicken broth, divided
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Pinch of ground red pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil 

DIRECTIONS

Place garlic and shallots in an 8-inch square pan lined with aluminum foil; drizzle with oil.

Bake at 450° for 15 minutes, stirring twice; cool.

Process garlic, shallots, tomatoes, 3/4 cup chicken broth, and next 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Cook tomato mixture and remaining 3/4 cup broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in basil; serve immediately with Basil Pesto Toast, if desired.

Note: To serve 4, double all ingredients. Process half each of garlic, shallots, and tomatoes with 1 cup broth in blender; repeat. Heat tomato mixture and remaining 1 cup broth in a large sacucepan for 8 minutes. 

Makes 4 servings

VERDICT

When I first entered this recipe to get the nutrition information, it came back at 87 calories per serving.  And I was nervous.  How can anything that healthy be filling or taste any good?

I was wrong.  It is great soup.  I didn't make it as smooth as the recipe called for (I guess I should have left it in the food processor longer) and it had chunks of onion and tomato.  And I used entirely too much hot sauce and cayenne pepper.  I'd definitely keep it that hot next time as well.

I added a few Garlic Rosemary Parmesan Biscuits and the whole meal was still under 400 calories.

Overall, the soup is easy to make, healthy, and packs a punch with all that spice!    

NUTRITION

87 calories per serving!

Rosemary Garlic Parmesan Biscuits

I'm trying to go low carb for the weeks leading up to our cruise.  Trying.  It's just not my thing.  I love pasta.  And rice.  And bread.  And I really needed something to make with the Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup on Monday night.  I mean, the soup was 87 calories a cup.  I just didn't think it would be very filling without something to go with it.  And this recipe does come from skinnytaste.com, so even if it is a carb it is low in calories.

...and in spite of me being rediculous trying to justify it, these were really good.  And really easy.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp salted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
• 2 cups baking mix (Bisquick or similar)
• 3 oz shredded parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup fat free milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Melt butter in a small pan, add oil and half the garlic; sauté on low heat about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add chopped rosemary.

In a large bowl, combine biscuit mix, parmesan cheese, and remaining garlic. Stir in milk and mix (do not over mix). Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls (about 1.5 oz each) onto prepared cookie sheet.  Make 14 biscuits.

Bake for 10 minutes. Brush or drizzle biscuits with melted butter. Bake for 5 more minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom.

VERDICT

Quick, easy, and practically a diet food.  Except for the fact that you won't just stop at one roll.  Or two. And... they reheat really well the next day. 

NUTRITION

Servings: 14 • Serving Size: 1 biscuit • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 113.8 • Fat: 5.4 g • Protein: 4.0 g • Carb: 12.6 g • Fiber: 0.0 g • Sugar: 1.9 g
Sodium: 268 mg

Thanks to the brilliant cook at Skinnytaste for this recipe!