Homemade Tomato Soup

For those of us in Utah, the weather is going to finally turn cold. The high on Monday is 47 degrees with rain/snow. Bring it on. :)

And what is the perfect meal for cold weather? Hot soup and yummy bread. Mmmm. And for those of you in not-so-cool climates, maybe turn your AC down really, really low to mimic cool weather because you won't want to miss out on this. :) I don't usually like tomato soup, but I love this. Here is my favorite recipe for homemade tomato soup, courtesy of the Food Network:

Homemade Tomato Soup

Serves 4-5 people

-2 (14 oz) cans tomatoes

-1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

-salt and pepper

-2 stalks celery, diced

-2 small carrots, diced

-1 large yellow onion, diced

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-2 cup chicken broth

-2 bay leaves

-4 TBSP butter

-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1/4 cup dried basil)

-1 cup heavy cream, optional (I have tried it with and without and I like it better without, but I'm not much of a cream person, as you all know.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and roast until carmelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and garlic; cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf, and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add basil and cream if desired. If a more creamy consistency is desired, puree with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can just pour all this in the regular blender on a very low setting for a minute.)