Herbed Tomato Soup

I love homemade tomato soup. Since I have had pounds of tomatoes at my house the past couple weeks I decided it was time to make some.

 This first time I had homemade tomato soup was at Dave's sister's house. Her husband Mike (Hi Mike!!) makes homemade tomato soup, it was divine! It gave me a whole new outlook on tomato soup. I don't think I can ever go back to relying on the canned store bought soup. Its just not as good!

Since I don't have Mike's recipe (AHEM) for tomato soup, I came across one that I had copied from the Desert Newspaper back home a while back. I was hesitant about trying it, I didn't want it to not be as good as Mike's. His is hard to beat. Though I think this one could stand in a running against his. 

It was WONDERFUL!! I was getting spoonfuls of it out of the pot before I was even ready to serve it.

I was trying to hurry and make my grilled cheese sandwich so I could sit down and enjoy my bowl full of tomato soup. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup go hand in hand, you can't have one without the other! 

I froze some tomatoes and bottled some so that I can make this soup again once the chilly weather sets in! Yum!!

I am meant for colder weather, fall is definitely my favorite season!

Herbed Tomato Soup

1/4 cup olive oil

2 medium onions, diced (I used 1)

6-8 peeled and coarsely chopped tomatoes

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. snipped basil or 1 tsp. dried

2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried (I only had ground so I did 1/4 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt, or to taste

2-3 Tbsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. pepper

4 cups chicken broth

1 pint half and half

Saute diced onions in olive oil until transparent and soft. Put all ingredients in large pot, cover and bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes. Place soup mixture in blender, or use stick blender to puree. If using a stand blender, leave the jar lid slightly open to avoid steam build-up. Strain, if desired, to eliminate seeds. Pour back into pot. Add the half and half. Ladle soup into serving bowls, garnish with Parmesan cheese.