Hello, snow!

Up here in the Montana Rockies, we typically are two months into winter by now, but this year we've only had little dustings of it--just enough to hide the grass. Well, the delay is over. The snow showed up and  accumulated enough to finally go out and enjoy the sleds! The kids were out for two hours trompsing around in it.



With playtime behind us, we headed in to fill our tummies with something warm. The kids requested the old cold weather stand-by...grilled cheese and tomato soup, and a cup of creamy hot marshmallows ...er, I mean hot cocoa on the side.

A family friend shared this recipe for scrumptious tomato bisque, using stuff we almost always have on hand. The kids inhale it.

*Faces/ designs are best cut into bread that is still slightly frozen. Those string cheese sticks work wonderfully
as bendable "corks" to plug up the holes you've cut.

 Tomato Bisque

6 -7 tomatos, chopped

1 carrot, diced

1 medium sweet onion
(or shallot), chopped

         3 cloves garlic (want more? less?--> go for it)

 2 TBSP olive oil

1 can tomato puree
2 tsp itallian seasoning

3 Cups chicken (or vegatable) broth

1 Cup half and half (dont skimp.)
salt/ pepper to taste

*The key to really developing the flavors in this soup, is to coat

chopped tomatos, onion, garlic, carrot, in olive oil, salt and pepper
 and roast them in a 350 degree oven for 40 min.  This extra step really

makes a dfference!

Combine roasted veg. with can of puree and chicken broth,

and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer these together for 10-15 min.

and blend together using a submerssion or upright blender or food processor.

Simmer the last 5 min. stirring in half and half.

I NEVER HAVE LEFTOVERS!

And since Mama likes grilled cheese too, I like to throw together a sammy panini-style.
I like:
Herbed goat cheese
roasted red peppers
fresh spinach
one slice of prosciutto
(And since I don't have a panini maker, I put my dutch oven pot on top my sandwhich as it
cooks up on my stove top grill pan.)

Nummy.