Tomato Soup That's REALLY MMM MMM GOOD!

I was so surprised last night at the New Weigh meeting how many people have NEVER tried to make their own tomato soup. It's so easy and versatile. You can used canned tomatoes, garden tomatoes, roasted tomatoes... and don't get me started on the variety of vegetables and herbs you can throw in there! Here is the very basic recipe I use. Feel free to do whatever you want to this - herbs, garlic, salsa, hot sauce, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, cheeses - you name it.

First off - this is a list of the ingredients in a bowl of Campbell's Tomato Soup (c)

Ingredients

Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste)Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup,Wheat Flour, Salt, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola and/or Soybean)Flavoring, Ascorbic Acid, and Citric Acid.

Seriously???? You want to feed this to your family?

Let's try this easy peasy recipe.

Joni's Basic Tomato Soup

1 small onion diced

1 tbsp canola or olive oil

2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes (or about 2 pounds fresh)

2 chopped carrots

2 c chicken broth

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup fat free half and half (fat free evaporated milk would work too)

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for topping (optional) 

Heat oil in a stockpot and add the onion, cooking until soft. Add the spices and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, carrots and broth. Bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or carefully transfer to a blender to process in small batches. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the FF half and half to make as creamy as you desire. Top with cheese.