Quick Tomato Basil Soup and Gluten Free Sun Dried Tomato Biscuits

Winter Hits Montana Early And Inspires Cooking In The Kitchen! Temperatures in Montana this week completely bypassed fall, did not pass go, and headed straight towards winter. Last week we had temperatures at 89° only to be blessed with the teens and twenties this week with 4 inches of snow on Friday. My family was not prepared and strangely the winter coats somehow disappeared and I was not thrilled to be thrown into scraping the snow off the windows in order to take my children to school.

This week’s weather events helped give me that boost of energy to get into the kitchen again. The last few weeks have not only been busy but stressful and I realized just the other day that I haven’t created a new recipe in nearly 4 weeks. Too long! So thanks to the snow and a cold house I am back to my old self again, well at least a little! This week on the menu is Quick Tomato Basil Soup and Sun-dried Tomato Basil Biscuits. Both are a hit for families and crowds and pair nicely together. There is nothing like a warm bowl of soup and biscuits hot out of the oven to warm up your house and bodies on cold winter days.

Quick Tomato Basil Soup

¼ cup butter or margarine or 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
½ an onion, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced (about 1 tsp.)

1- 32 oz can organic chicken broth
1- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2- 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes ( I used the cans that have oregano and garlic added)

2 Tbsp. dried basil or ¼ cup fresh basil, minced
1 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
Fresh Black Pepper to taste (about 1/8 tsp.)
½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

In a large soup pan, sauté the onions in the butter or oil until translucent. Add minced garlic and stir to combine. Pour in chicken broth, crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. Add basil, sugar, and salt. Stir well to combine. Add baking soda. The baking soda helps to cut the acid in the tomatoes. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.

Allow to heat over medium high heat just until the soup begins to boil. Reduce heat to low. Slowly pour in cream stirring constantly to combine. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve warm. Add a pinch of fresh shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired.

Sun Dried Tomato Basil Biscuits

1 ½ cups Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour
¾ tsp. xanthan gum
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup Italian cheese blend or ¼ cup Parmesan ¼ cup Romano cheese

½ cup milk (dairy, rice, nut, soy)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced onion
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, minced

Directions: Preheat oven to 400°.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, basil, garlic, and cheese. Mix well to combine. Make a well in center of bowl.

In a liquid measuring cup, measure out milk. Add eggs, olive oil, minced onion, and sun-dried tomatoes to the milk. Mix with a fork to combine. Pour in all at once to the flour well. Stir ingredients to combine.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop dough and place dough on baking sheet 2 inches apart. With lightly floured hands or fingers run under hot water, gently smooth out the rough spots on the top of the dough and gently flatten dough.

Place baking sheet on upper rack and bake for 14-16 minutes or until the tops begin to brown.

Variation 1: Place scoops into lightly sprayed muffin pan. Smooth out tops. Bake 14-16 minutes.
Variation 2: Use a 1 inch cookie scoop and fill lightly sprayed mini muffin pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Dairy Free Option: Use rice, nut or soy milk. Leave the cheese out and add 2-3 Tbsp pine nuts or walnuts.