Healthy Tomato Basil Soup

This one is worth the work!  I love Tomato Basil Soup but since I am needing to work off the holiday weight, I needed a recipe that was non-pure-cream (is that a word!) and that I could make and freeze some for later. I adapted it from two peas and their pod website.

Ingredients:
5 tomatoes, cut in half if romas, sliced if larger -
4 TBS olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup freshly chopped basil (can do with dried basil - use a lot less & do it to taste)

 - see my tricky fresh basil from Peggy in the picture above. Just freeze fresh basil in water in an ice cube tray.  Then transfer the basil cubes to a freezer bag.  This is how to have fresh basil all year long.
Dash of red pepper flakes
1 (15 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste (don't need if you don't ice cube your basil)
4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

Step one: preheat oven to 400.  Spread the tomatoes on a pam sprayed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 TBS of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes.  I did two trays at a time (for when I made several batches at once) and rotated half way through and they turned out great.

Step two: in a large stockpot, heat 2 TBS of olive oil over medium.  Cook the onions until clear.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook for 2-3 minutes longer - depending on how much garlic you use.

Step three: add canned tomatoes (juice and all), basil, and broth.

Step four: add the roasted tomatoes.  Cook for 30 minutes plus over medium to low heat.

Step five: use an immersion blender or blender and smooth soup.  Voila!  You are done!