Italian Bread Soup

I know everyone and their uncle is commenting on the frigid temperatures today, so the only thing I will say is:  "I don't care what the heck I had planned for dinner tonight, I am making soup!"  I assessed what I had, looked through my repertoire to see what I could adapt, and I came up with Bread Soup.  I learned this technique watching Giada.  Not sure when, or what I was watching.  It is tomato based, so I pulled out some roasted garlic sauce I had put up in the freezer this summer.   I don't really have a specific recipe to list for you, so I will list what I used.

Italian Bread Soup

Olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped, set tops aside
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 potatoes chunked
Italian Seasoning
Tomato Sauce-about 16 oz.-like I said, I had garden sauce that I put up with roasted garlic.
1 can Vegetable Broth
1 bag of frozen vegetables
1 can of cannelloni beans
Bread-I used leftover Rosemary Bread I had made last week.
shredded cheese-I chose Parmesan.

I sauteed the onion, garlic, celery and carrot in olive oil just to break it down a little.

I added the vegetable broth, the tomato sauce, and the potatoes, along with the seasoning.  I seasoned with salt and pepper as well.

I simmered for about 30 minutes-no rhyme or reason, I just got some other things done while it was cooking.

I added the vegetables, the celery tops and the beans and brought to a boil.  Turn it down to a simmer. I tossed in a Parmesan Rind I had frozen for soup.  I simply let all simmer for a while.

I had made some Rosemary Italian Bread last week.  I also had done some Rosemary infused oil that I had done as holiday gifts in order to share the bounty of our garden.  These were both perfect to make some chunky croutons to float on the soup.

Cut bread up and spread out on a cookie sheet.

Under the broiler toast each side lightly.
Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with cheese.  I used Parmesan.
Brown off.

Float a few croutons in each steamy bowl of soup.

Ok, so I used sauce from the garden.  Beans were 10 cans for $10 this week, as well as the bagged frozen veges.  This was not only healthy, but a great way to combine some leftovers, and store specials!  And, did anyone notice I couldn't resist using the snowman dishes tonight?  I thought they were more than appropriate!

My husband gave it an A+.   I so, gave it a Master's Degree!  In the words of an old friend of ours, "this combination was VARSITY!".

Another day tomorrow of this arctic freeze.  I say hot chocolate is on the agenda for tonight!  Stay warm friends and thanks for sharing!  ~judy