The Tomato Soup Tragedy

Have you ever felt like you were more of a maid than a wife and mother?  David is a nuclear engineer.  He works rotating shifts, including several rotations of night shift.  The past four nights he has been working.  I hate it when he works nights because he goes to work at about 5 pm and gets home at 7 am.  Then he sleeps from the time he gets home until about 3:30 pm.  We have very little time together, Daniel barely sees him and I am with Daniel without any support for days on end.  Well, tonight is night 4 of the night shift and I am pretty much at the end of my rope.  So anyway, tonight I made a very easy dinner.  Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Well at least, one would think it was easy, but the tragedy began with my bread for the sandwiches.  First, I was so exhausted during nap time, I sat down to read my book for a bit and fell asleep.  I forgot about my rising bread and it rose so much that it spilled out of the bread pans.  I fixed it, baked it and it was fine, except for a few air bubbles.  So then, I started the soup.  I made a HUGE pot of tomato soup, as I always do when making this type of soup, because I use it in different recipes. 
I finished the soup, and went to make the sandwiches and got distracted by some Daniel shenanigans.  Then I managed to burn the sandwiches.  I quickly threw away the burnt sandwiches and started over.  I finished dinner, we ate, and then I started cleaning up.  Daniel was trying to help me and I kept trying to get him to go play.  Then all of the sudden, the soup pot dumped over.  Hot soup spilled all over the counter and floor, and all over me.  It took everything in me to keep from crying.  I got the mess cleaned up and Daniel and I left and went to the park for awhile because I NEEDED out of the house!  I seriously could not wait for bedtime tonight.  Too bad I am doing total body detox cause I really could use some chocolate!  Anyway, here is my tomato soup recipe.  Despite the fact that it spilled, it was really yummy!

Tomato Soup

• 2-3 lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced (to peel tomatoes, blanche them in boiling water until the skins split, then place them in very cold water for about a minute until cool enough to handle. Peel the skins away) or you can use two 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. italian herbs
• 1 tsp. dill
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 5 cups of chicken stock
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. pesto sauce (if desired)

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs, and dill.   Saute about 5 minutes or until the vegetables begin to sweat.  Add the tomatoes and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and turn heat down to medium low and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
Remove soup from heat and puree using an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor.  Return to the heat and stir in the sour cream and pesto (if using).  Turn down to low heat and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with a little cheese, add in your favorite crackers or with grilled cheese sandwiches!  This soup is also great to use in recipes that call for tomato soup!  Yum!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!