This is souper!

Hi! I'm Jen's dinner swap partner, Melanie, and every now and then if she really likes something I make, I try to remember to stick the recipe up here. I don't know if it's because we're beachside that our weather is suffering from multiple personality disroder right now, or if that's just Spring any where, but one day you wake up and it's a beach day and the very next is a definite soup day. If you love soup weather, this is a really good recipe. Total crowd pleaser. If you beef it up with some whole grain Goldfish crackers sprinkled on top, it makes a great lunch all by itself.

Bell Pepper-Tomato Soup

2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 medium onion(s), diced
1 medium carrot(s), chopped
1 1/2 tsp herbes de Provence
3 medium sweet red pepper(s), or orange, sliced**
14 1/2 oz reduced-sodium chicken broth
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 tsp table salt
1/2 cup(s) fat-free creamer, or fat-free half-and-half
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion and carrot. Cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

Add herbes de Provence, cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add peppers. Cook until begins to soften, about 5 minutes. (See footnote: You do not need to cook peppers if they are charred and peeled.)

Add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Cover; simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, half-and-half and sugar. Purée in small batches; briefly reheat, if needed. Yields 1 cup per serving.

**The bell peppers are awesome if you roast them. Just halve them, remove the seeds, and place them face down on a foil covered cookie sheet under your broiler for fifteen minutes until charred. Remove them from the heat and seal them in a Ziploc bag for fifteen minutes, then remove the charred parts (comes off easily in your hands). It really adds a lot to the flavor.

This makes 8 servings at only 1 point per serving!

You can check out my blog where I dump out all my random thoughts for a low calorie sweet and salty snack I love here.