I love, love, love creamy homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.  It is one of my favorite comfort foods.  I saw a recipe for a hearty slow cooker tomato soup on Today’s Mama and immediately wanted to try it.

I did modify it a bit to make it a little healthier.  The Today’s Mama link has the original version.  The way I ended up doing it though was creamy and delicious.  I will be making this one again!  If you want to be naughty, but not quite as naughty as the original recipe, swirl a bit more half and half in the bowl before eating.

Ingredients:
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
2 cups half and half, warmed (or skim milk if you’re trying to cut some calories)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. I blended mine a bit with an immersion blender at this point, but that is optional.

3.Stir in the warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don’t be afraid to always season to taste at the end).

4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.