Monday Mealtime

I found this wonderful recipe over at Nook & Pantry. Soup for dinner is always a winner! YUM!

Roasted Tomato and Quinoa Soup & Grilled Cheese SandwichRoasted Tomato Soup with Quinoa2 C roasted tomatoes (from 2 pounds tomatoes) or 2 cans of14.5 oz Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion or half a large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 - 3 C chicken stock or water, to taste
1/4 C quinoa, rinsed
1/4 C chiffonade* basil (optional)
*chiffonade right before using to prevent the basil from turning black
For Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup
- Add half a cup of heavy cream right after cooking
In a Dutch oven or large nonreactive saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute the onions until they are translucent and have softened. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Scrape the onion and garlic mixture into a blender and add the roasted tomatoes or cans of fire roasted tomatoes. Blend until completely smooth, add a little of the chicken stock or water if the mixture is too thick.
Return the puree into the saucepan, add the dried oregano, and the chicken stock or water. Simmer on low to medium low heat for 10 minutes, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, add more stock or water if it’s too tomatoey, and add the quinoa. Continue to simmer until the quinoa are cooked through and opened, about 10 – 15 minutes.
Off heat, stir in the chiffonade basil. For creamy soup, stir in the cream after simmering the soup. Add basil at this time too.
Roasted Tomatoes
3 lbs tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Slow Roasted 
Cut the tomatoes in half and get rid of as many seeds as possible. In a bowl, toss the tomato halves with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Arrange the tomatoes on a parchment paper lined metal sheet pan or skip the parchment and use a pyrex glass dish.
Roast in the oven at 300 degrees for 6 or more hours, depending on how dry you want them. I only roasted them for about 6 hours because I wanted to keep them juicy since they were going into soup.
Fast Roasted Tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Cut the tomatoes in half and get rid of as many seeds as possible. In a bowl, toss the tomato halves with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Arrange the tomatoes on a parchment paper lined metal sheet pan (do not use a pyrex in such high temps). Roast until the tomatoes start to color, about 30 minutes.
After roasting the tomatoes are easily peeled off. I forgot to peel them but the skins pureed in the blender and were not an issue.