Crockpot Tomato Soup

...even easier and just as fabulous as the crockpot chicken noodle soup I made earlier this week. Once again, I pinned a few tomato soup recipes on Pinterest, but ultimately used my noggin--and okay, my mother-- to compose an original recipe to call my own. Until this week, I had only used my crockpot once and it was for rotel dip... They say that the crockpot is your best friend during your first few years as a wife. That was not true for me until this week, but now that I've discovered the hundreds of recipes for this thing, I'm unlikely to ever cook anything in my oven again.

Ingredients:

4 cups Swanson chicken broth (I use low sodium)
4 14-oz cans of pureed tomatoes or 5-6 pureed tomatoes. Although it tastes absolutely wonderful with canned tomatoes, next time I'll try using real ones. My blender has a puree setting, but I really didn't feel like pulling that thing out today.
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1-2 tbls heavy whipping cream
1/2 tbls minced garlic
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese (Shredded) for topping

Combine your broth, tomatoes, and EVOO in your crockpot and turn it on the appropriate setting (Low or High) depending on what time you begin. I started around 10am (Eric gets home at 4 on Fridays), so I put my on the LOW 6 Hours setting.
Stir your mixture, then add a tbls heavy whipping cream (if you end up needing another tbls add it later on). Add 1/2 tbls minced garlic and let simmer for a few hours or until you're almost ready to serve. Then add your salt and pepper, thyme, basil, and parsley and stir. If you need another tbls of heavy whipping cream, go ahead and add that. Do some taste-testing (and get a second opinion--in my case Eric) to see if you need additional salt/pepper. Season as much or as little as you like!

Top each serving with a little shredded parmesan cheese and serve with crackers and grilled cheese!!! Easy and perfect for this chilly November weather!!!