Whole30 Compliant Fire-y Crock-Pot Tomato Soup

I started the Whole30 challenge 5 days ago. [sigh] I really miss bread.....

But - it has forced me to change the way I think about food. So far, I've not had the grumpies, or anything else most people go through on their first four days. I guess I'm lucky on that.
The fiance' is also benefiting from my culinary adventures....he has liked what I've cooked so far.

Yummy Fire-y Crock pot Tomato Soup

I do make a fabulous Tomato Basil Soup- my own copy of Noodles & Co.'s version...and I like mine better. But tonight I tried making a recipe I found on another blogger's site...then realized that I didn't have all the ingredients they used. And I was being too lazy to go to the store.

Which means I kinda 'winged' it. And know what? It turned out fabulous! I really think this is going to go in the 'keeper' file of soups I love. Now, I know pepperoni is not Whole30 compliant. That's ok. I didn't put it in my portion, but I did leave it and listed it as an *added ingredient (for those of you not on the Whole30 program). For those of us who are, please read the labels of the canned items you are using. Some brands are compliant, some are not. READ YOUR LABELS!


FIRE-Y CROCK-POT TOMATO SOUP

1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil - enough to saute the veggies, but not too much.
1 t black pepper
1 t oregano
1 t red pepper flakes
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can beef broth
6 slices deli pepperoni, diced (omit on whole 30)


First- take your canned tomatoes and put them in the crock pot. Turn on the crock-pot on low.
Saute the onions, celery, and carrots in olive oil until tender. Add garlic and saute two minutes more.
Add to crock-pot.
Put the lid on the crock-pot and walk away for 4 hours.
When you come back, add the spices and stir.
Using a stick blender (or regular blender if that's what you have), blend all ingredients until desired consistency. I like mine smooth with some chunky pieces hanging out.
Add enough of the beef broth to smooth out the soup. I used the whole can.
Put lid back on and let simmer for 1  hour more.

DONE!

Now, if you are not on Whole30- you can add the pepperoni for the last hour of simmer, or just before serving if you don't want to 'ruin' your diet leftovers!