so delightful and pretty...

This photo belongs to Cooking Classy

This soup was creamy and flavorful and pretty.  The cream added that little extra "somethin, somethin" to the dish that just finished it off and it also created a warm, beautiful, orangish-red color. (I mean just look at that amazing color!!!)  Topped with a bit more basil and cheese made the fist taste just wonderful, in fact, I think I closed my eyes and just smiled when I first tasted the soup. Know I used my Dutch Oven to make the dish as this recipe makes a lot of soup and when I initially put it in the crock pot, yikes, liquid was at the very top.  A very easy dish to make for the holidays or any winter night when you are just in the mood for a comfort dish.

Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Soup by Cooking Classy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Yield: About 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup diced carrots (3 medium)
• 1 3/4 cup diced yellow onion (1 large)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 (28 oz) cans whole Roma tomatoes
• 1 (32 oz) carton vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 16 oz refrigerated three cheese tortellini
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Parmesan, shredded, for serving

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion and saute 3 - 4 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Pour mixture into a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker along with tomatoes, vegetable broth, basil, bay leaves, sugar. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW 6 - 7 hours or HIGH 3 - 3 1/2 hours.
• Remove bay leaves then puree mixture well with an emulsion blender (or carefully in small batches in a blender. If your slow cooker doesn't keep all the moisture in well while cooking, you may need to add in 1/2 cup water or so at this point so the soup isn't too thick). Stir in tortellini, cover and cook on HIGH heat 15 minutes longer (or until heated through). Reduce heat to warm, stir in heavy cream. Serve topped with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
• Recipe Source: Cooking Classy