Fast & Easy Cold Weather Comfort Food

What to do when the weather is bitter and the kids Christmas break is extended by a couple of days?  It takes a village for moms to entertain stir crazy kids who can not go out to play in the snow.  On Monday, I had a couple of friends and their kids over for lunch and more importantly mental health play time for the moms and kids alike.  As an illustration of just how cold it has been, one of my friends provided a loaf of crusty bread to go with the soup.  It sat in her car for 10 minutes and when she handed it to me it had frozen solid!  Talk about flash freezing!

Since I was working in the morning, I made creamy tomato soup on Sunday, and then just added the finishing touches when it was served on Monday afternoon.  I spent some time on pinterest and found a couple of recipes but, ultimately, this one came from what I had in hand and what sounded good.  I must say, it is a keeper!

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Lg onion, finely diced
3 Cloves prepared garlic (if using raw, I'd use 1 Lg clove)
1 C. prosecco
1 C. water
1 Qt. canned tomatoes (I used our roasted ones, if you have time to roast them first it really adds!)
2 C. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste
pesto

Directions:
 In a dutch oven heat olive oil, and saute onion until soft.  Add garlic and cook until aromatic.  Then splash in the prosecco and water and cook until reduced by 1/3 to 1/2.  Add tomatoes and heavy cream and blend with an immersion blender.  Once smooth (or desired consistency), add salt and pepper to taste and stir in honey.  Simmer until ready to eat, or refrigerate for re-heating.  When serving add a dollop of your favorite pesto to the center and serve with crusty bread.