"Snow Day Soup"

Will I ever return to school? It's beginning to seem that we should scrap the year and start over. At first these mini-vacations were glorious, but my summer vacation is shrinking before my eyes. My favorite part of a snow day is having time to cook. It has become a tradition for me to watch the snow fall and warm up with a pot of fresh soup. However, today I decided to challenge myself to make a new soup without a recipe. The result? Tomato, Corn and Crab Bisque. Or, as Amanda calls it, "Snow Day Soup".

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 celery stalk, including leaves, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt

Pepper

Old Bay seasoning

2 bay leaves

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (with basil)

6 cups chicken broth

6 oz lump crab meat

1 cup corn (canned, frozen. or fresh)

1 cup orzo, (other small pasta)

1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese

Add oil to a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Add onion, celery, red pepper, garlic, and salt. Sweat the vegetables for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add pepper and Old Bay to taste. Add tomatoes, 2 cups of chicken broth, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Puree soup with an immersion blender, or in batches with a standard blender. Add crab meat and corn and return to a simmer. Meanwhile, boil remaining 4 cups of chicken broth. Cook orzo in the broth according to package directions, but do not drain. Add cooked pasta with broth to the tomato soup. Add cheese and stir until melted. Enjoy :-)

This recipe allows me to cross off  65: write an original recipe, in addition to completing one more soup recipe for goals 95-99. In addition, my scarf should be completed at the end of the week!