Crock Pot Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This is a super yummy slow cooker soup. It's rich and creamy and wonderful. I got the recipe from the cookbook 365 Days of Slow-Cooking by Karen Bellessa Petersen (a great slow cooker cookbook). My family really liked it and all four of my kids had it reheated for lunch the next day because they loved it so much. I served it with grilled cheese sandwiches and it was a delicious meal.

Crock Pot Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

2, 14 oz cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups half & half
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1 can spicy V8
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, oregano, 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed bay leaves, and chicken stock to a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours (you can do part of the time on high if you want to speed the process up).

For a smooth soup, use an immersion blender to blend up the soup until it is the consistency you like or you can blend in batches in a blender and put back in crock pot. You can skip this step if you want a chunky soup, but my family likes smooth and creamy tomato soup.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk for about a minute. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of half and half. Whisking constantly bring this mixture to a simmer to thicken. Add this white sauce to the mixture in the crockpot. Add Parmesan, V8, salt, and pepper to taste to the crockpot. Stir well. Cover and cook on low for another hour. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.