Zupas Copycat Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Cafe Zupas is one of my most favorite places to eat! I love their soups and sandwiches and salads....well... I guess I love everything there! I was mailed some canned tomatoes from Muir Glen Organics with it came a recipe of fire roasted tomato soup. I just can't resist a new recipe so I made it. It tasted exactly like Zupas Tomato Basil Soup - so I thought I would share! 

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 cans (14.5 oz) of fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained (I used Muir Glen Brand)

1 can (14 oz) fat free chicken broth (you can also use vegetable broth)

2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon of sugar

1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup skim milk

(The recipe calls for 1/2 cup heavy cream instead of using skim milk... but the skim milk worked out just fine! - and much less fattening!)

Directions:

In a 3- quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until onion is crisp-tender.

Stir in tomatoes, broth, 1 Tablespoon of basil, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and then cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl and let it cool for about 15 minutes.

Once slightly cooled, place half of your mixture into a blender and puree. Pour the puree back into the saucepan. Repeat with remaining mixture. Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat. Stir in cream, milk and 1 Tablespoon of chopped basil. 

Serve while it is hot with Whole Wheat Bread.

Servings: 10 

(I froze about half of my soup after it was cooked and had it the next week for dinner- it thawed perfectly)

http://www.todaystaste.com/2013/08/zupas-copycat-tomato-basil-soup.html

Cookies & Cream

1 bag Oreos, crushed
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 C butter
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1 large box instant pudding, prepared
12 oz Cool Whip

Cream together cream chees, butter,  powdered sugar & vanilla.  In separate bowl mix milk & pudding chill until set.  Fold in cool whip after pudding has set.  Add cream cheese mixture.  Layer with Oreos.  Chill until ready to serve!

Sweet Potato Paleo Brownies

Sweet Potato Paleo Brownies

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Dark chocolate
• 2 med Sweet Potatoes, boiled purple or red skinned firm fleshed
• 1/4 cup Unpasteurized Local Honey
• 3 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 tbsp Vanilla
• 1 tbsp Coconut Flour
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Method:

1. Melt the dark chocolate in the coconut oil in either a double boiler, a steel or glass bowl over a pot of boiling water or in the microwave. I generally use the microwave at 30 second bursts , stir repeat until melted (usually in 1 1/2 minutes)
2. Puree the sweet potato in a food processor until smooth, making sure there are no lumpy bits.
3. Add in all of the other ingredients, and mix until very smooth and creamy.
4. Transfer the batter to an oiled 8×8 or a 6×11 baking dish.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer into the middle and seeing if it comes out clean. If not cook for another 5 minutes and test again.

Salsa

Simple and delicious: Chop 5-6 Roma tomatoes,1 small onion and 1/2 cup fresh Cilantro. Mince 2 seeded Serrano or Jalapeño peppers and 1 clove of garlic. Add 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together and let sit overnight for flavors to meld.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

6-8 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crispy
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, soft
1 cup of mayonnaise
4-6 jalapeno's, chopped and deseeded. The seeds will make it fiery hot.
1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup diced green onion

Topping:

1 cup of crushed crackers ( I used Ritz)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 stick of butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all of the ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir well.

Transfer to an oven proof dish. The size of the dish depends on how thick the dip is. The thicker the dip the longer it may need to warm up. I used this stoneware dish that is round and measures 12 inches across. My dip is usually about an inch thick.



Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle all over the top of the dip.

Bake the dip for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

This ranch is AMAZING and has quickly became our new favorite. You can use LITE buttermilk, sour cream and mayo and it is STILL really good. It doesn't taste at all like the lite version in the stores. So much yummy ranch flavor!

1/4 cup Black Pepper
1 1/2 cups Parsley Flakes
1/2 cup Garlic Salt
2 Tbsps Kosher Salt
1/4 cup Granulated Garlic
3/4 cup Granulated Onion
2 Tbsps Dill Weed

Combine all ingredients, store in an airtight container. Makes about 3 ½ cups of dry mix. Will only use 2 Tbsps of this mix for each batch.

To Make Dressing, whisk together:
2 Tbsps of mix
2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups buttermilk (trying this with kefir, which I hear is a great substitute for buttermilk)
1 1/2 Cups sour cream
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Makes 1 3/4 Quarts

Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

2 medium sized ripe avocados
1/3 cup raw cacao powder, or more to taste
5 fresh dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup coconut milk, nut milk or filtered water
1tsp natural vanilla extract or pure vanilla bean powder
A pinch of unrefined sea salt

Optional

Dried coconut, grated dark chocolate or berries to serve

Method

1. Soak the dates in the milk or water for 10-30 minutes to soften. In a blender, add the avocado flesh, dates, milk, vanilla and salt and cacao powder. Blend until smooth. You may need a little more liquid to facilitate blending and scrape down the sides of the jug a few times.
2. Adjust ingredients to taste, adding more cacao powder if it needs it. Serve and garnish with your choice of toppings.