Rachel's Tomato Basil Soup

"I was skeptical to try this, as my brain told me good, homemade soup takes hours. I made a couple of substitutions to work with what I had on hand--my homemade tomatoes put up from my garden, already..." See more seasoned with onion, olive oil and parsley for one. I also used regular tomato juice rather than V-8, and added garlic powder, salt and pepper. I used basil from my garden, so it couldn't have been any fresher. So you throw a few things into a pot, stir, and add a couple of things to finish. How easy is that? Not only that, but this soup, garnished with a sprig of basil, was as pretty and delicious as any we've had in fine restaurants. This is yet another example of how great food doesn't have to be time consuming and complicated--just a few good and simple ingredients can turn out something amazing. "

"I didn't want a creamy soup - just a tomato basil soup so I started out knowing I wasn't going to be putting the butter or cream in.... I used a 14.5 oz. can of crushed tomatoes and a 14.5 oz. can of..." See more petite diced tomatoes. I put this in the food processor with the basil reserving half of the can of diced tomatoes for a chunky soup. I transferred everything to the saucepan along with chicken broth, V8, 1 Tbsp. of minced garlic, 1 tsp. of vinegar, 1/2. tsp. of thyme, 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar, and some salt & pepper. I followed the cooking time and it was delicious. I topped it with some seasoned croutons and served with BLT's. "

"I work at a small cafe and needed a Tomato Basil Soup recipe for a bridal shower for 40. This worked out to be the best since fresh tomatoes were out of the budget. I have recieved SO many complimen..." See morets and repeat customers for this soup, so much so that it has become a regular menu item!! The only change I made was to add about a table spoon of brown sugar to a recipe for 12."