Delicious Tomato Soup

Tonight I had the leftovers of our Tomato-Basil Soup. The recipe is from the restaurant/bakery La'Madeleine's and is super-yummy. I also realized while I was making it that it is simple to make and economical too. Of course, I use coupons whenever I have them for organic products, but we ONLY buy organic and that can be expensive. I had two coupons and one item was on sale this time around. That said and organics being more expensive overall, I figure this soup (which makes 8 servings) cost about 73 cents a serving. If you use conventional ingredients it should be even cheaper.

Here's the recipe:

Tomato-Basil Soup

4 cups tomatoes peeled and chopped (I used canned diced tomatoes, a 28oz. can with a dash of H2O to fill out the four cups)

4 cups tomato juice

12-14 basil leaves (I grew this in my garden)

1 cup heavy cream ( I used half and half because it was a dollar cheaper, it didn't make a difference)

1/4 pound sweet, unsalted butter (that is one stick)

Salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper.

Directions:

Simmer the tomatoes and tomato juice for 30 minutes. Puree along with the basil leaves in small batches in a blender or food processor. (I only pureed about half and left the other half chunky). Return the puree to the saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves. We like ours with grilled cheese sandwiches!

This recipe is easily divided or multiplied for that matter; however, it won't likely freeze well because of the cream. Enjoy.