Tomato-Basil Soup with Ricotta Dumplings

Like I said, I had a busy weekend full of new recipes. Here's another I tried that I truly enjoyed (but my husband did not). Why? Because it didn't have meat. Whatever.

Soup:
1 teaspoon basil or olive oil
1 garlic clove,pressed
1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained (I actually didn't have crushed tomatoes-so I used diced)
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil

Dumplings:
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons grated fresh parmesan cheese
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Thinly sliced fresh basil

1. For soup, combine oil and garlic in a 3 qt. saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat 1-2 minutes or until garlic turns light golden brown. Immediately add tomatoes, chicken broth and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, for dumplings, combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, egg white, salt and black pepper in a small bowl; mix well. Add flour; stir just until combined. Using a small scoop or spoon, scoop dumbling mixture directly into simmering soup. Cook until dumplings float to the surface, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with thinly sliced basil.

Here's a shot of it in the pot:


And the final product:


I served this with buttery crescent rolls. It was so good. I actually liked it with the diced tomotoes, but I'd like to see what the difference would be with the crushed.

This was just a great soup and it would have been amazing on a nice and chilly day. It was very filling and yet it was so fresh. It just made me feel great. I enjoyed this recipe and it was so extremely easy.

Like I said, my husband likes meat...so he didn't really care for this soup. Maybe next time I'll add chunks of chicken or something..I don't know. I honestly feel like that would just change the whole concept of the soup so, who knows?

It was definitely fun, though, experimenting this weekend and trying new things.

Another thing I made was homemade waffles Sunday morning. I didn't have any bisquick or Aunt Jemima's mix, so I looked through a recipe book and found some easy waffles.

While the mixes in a box are so convenient there is just something so amazing about fresh waffles made from scratch! There were fluffier, tastier and more filling. I may post that recipe soon, too. It was too good not to share!

Hope you guys enjoyed some of these recipes and please let me know if you try any of them for yourselves!