Hearty Tomato Soup

Does anyone else just love a simple but delicious meal sometimes?

I love to take a classic meal, keep it easy, and turn it into something new and better.

That is exactly what happened here. My husband loves grilled cheese and tomato soup, and I often decline fixing it because it seems too "easy". One day I decided to make a homemade tomato soup for him. I knew I wanted a recipe with basil and cream cheese, and luckily I found a recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook and it was perfect. I guess it is really just a doctored tomato soup because it still uses canned soup.

I think he raved over this soup as much as anything I have ever made. It was unbelievably good and crazy easy! It didn't take but a little longer than a plain old can of soup, but the taste wasn't even comparable.

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cans (10 3/4oz.) condensed tomato soup
2 cans (14 1/2oz.) whole tomatoes, undrained

Melt butter in 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in butter about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender; remove from heat.

Stir in paprika, basil and cream cheese. Gradually stir in milk and soup. Beat with hand beater or wire whisk until cheese is melted and soup is smooth.

Stir in tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with a fork or snipping with kitchen scissors. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot.

1 serving (1 cup)= 195 calories
8 servings