Tomato basil soup

Makes 3 quarts

Adapted from here

2 15.5-oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. red pepper flake
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3.5-4 c. chicken broth
1 bay leaf

Put all of the above ingredients in a 3 quart (ideally 4 quart) slow cooker and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours until the vegetables are tender. About 30 minutes before serving, prepare a roux: 2 Tbsp. butter 3 Tbsp. flour 2 c. half and half Cook the butter and flour for 5-7 minutes. Whisk in the half and half, and cook over medium until the mixture thickens. Whisk 3 cups of hot soup into the cream mixture, in batches. Return the soup to the slow cooker. Add additional basil and oregano, if needed. I added extra salt and pepper here, too. Cook for another 20-30 minutes and do a final check on seasonings.

The original recipe called for a cup of parmesan cheese. While the soup was delicious without the parmesan, next time I'll use it. Also, I got 3 quarts of soup, whereas the recipe yielded 2 quarts.

Parmesan chicken with Caesar roasted romaine

This recipe modified from here.

 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 10 oz each)
1/2 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1/2 c. grated Parmesan (about 1.5 oz)
1/2 c. Panko
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. worcestershire
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 large hearts of romaine, halved lengthwise
4 anchovy fillets
1 lemon, cut into wedges
High quality extra-virgin olive oil for dressing

 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a half-sheet pan with foil. Season chicken with Montreal steak seasoning and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, while preparing the rest of the ingredients. Combine cheese, panko, 2 Tbsp oil, parsley and garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper. Pull chicken from the oven and pat 3/4 of the panko mixture on to the chicken. Roast chicken until crumbs begin to turn golden and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Drizzle the romaine with 1 Tbsp oil, drizzle each half of romaine with worchestershire, sprinkle with the remaining panko mixture. Add the lettuce a second half-sheet pan, lined with foil, and put in the oven for about 5 minutes until slightly browned at the edges. Divide among plates. Serve with lemon and olive oil for dressing.