My Stockpile Supper - Homemade Tomato Soup

I noticed that we had a lot of tomatoes from the garden and that some of them were starting to look soft, so I decided to use them up in a home-made tomato soup recipe for dinner. 

This also seemed like a good way to use up some the excess of free croutons that I had in my pantry from previous Harris Teeter Super Double events.

You may not have fresh tomatoes in your garden, but if you have a stockpile of canned tomatoes like I do in your pantry, those could also be used.

I made a triple batch of the original recipe, so that we had enough for more than one meal. 

First, I ran hot water over the tomatoes in order to easily slip the peels off.

This turned out to be a waste of water as it took a while, so I ended up filling the sink with hot water and letting the tomatoes soak in it until the peels were ready. 

Then, I chopped a few cloves of garlic, sauteed them in olive oil, and added in 2 large sliced onions, some salt, pepper, sugar, cloves and Italian seasoning.  

Once the onions were translucent, I added in all of the chopped tomatoes, which came to 12 cups. 






I let those cook over medium heat for a few minutes, then poured in 6 cups of chicken broth. You could also use vegetable broth. I also added a cup of milk.






Boil gently for about 20 minutes so that all the flavors can blend. Then, you can use a submersion blender or a food mill to make the soup a creamier texture. I didn't have either, so I carefully poured several ladlefuls at a time into my blender and pulsed.  You don't want the blender even half full, or you will have a hot, nasty mess when it spews out the top! Be sure to hold the top on while blending. 





Next, I melted 3 Tablespoons of butter and whisked in 3 Tablespoons of flour to make a roux, then cooked over medium until it was brownish. This thickens the soup a bit and adds flavor. Whisk a bit of the tomato mixture back in at first, then stir in all the rest in and simmer for a few minutes. 

At this point, I tasted the soup and found it was kind of bland, so I added more salt and pepper, then looked in my pantry for something to add that would give it more flavor. I found a can of Progresso Fire Roasted Tomato Recipe Starter, and added that, which helped.

It doesn't look like a lot of dinner, but it was very filling with the croutons. I used the cheddar/bacon ones for extra flavor. And we had enough left over for several more lunches or dinners!