Tomato Soup

It doesn’t get more classic than some tomato soup and a grilled cheese. Such a fabulous combination!  My tomato soup used to be Campbell’s… but I’ve been wanting to make it from scratch lately – because everything’s better from scratch, right?!? I’ve had this recipe floating in my head for a couple of weeks and this weekend I finally got the chance to make this soup a reality. It was really, really good. It reminded me of awesome tomato soup I’ve had at Zoe’s Kitchen. Anyways, I will be making this again for sure. Hope you enjoy!

Tomato Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups chicken stock
2 26-oz boxes of diced tomatoes (or 4 cans)
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 cup half and half

1.) In a large soup pot, heat olive oil and add onion, celery, carrots and garlic over medium-high heat. Sauté for about 8 to 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper and sugar. Heat to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
2.) Using an emulsion blender, blend soup until pureed (or add soup in batches to a blender and then return to pot).
3.) Add half and half and cook until heated through. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.