Cream of Tomato Soup

Nothing says comfort food more than tomato soup.  As a kid, if I had to stay home from school because I was running a temp, I remember having tomato soup and a grilled cheese.  Back then, it was canned tomato soup (Campbells) - but made me feel loved and comfy! 

This recipe is a way to take that canned tomato soup and turn it into a mouth watering cream of tomato soup.  It is one of our favorite soups for the fall.

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Ingredients:
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 small cans tomato soup
6 Tablespoon butter
one onion coarsely chopped
1/3 cup green pepper minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon basil
8 oz cream cheese softened (cut in small squares)
4 cups milk

Directions:
In a large soup pot, melt your butter over a low heat.  Add your onion, turn your heat to medium and slowly cook until onion starts to get tender.  Add your green pepper and continue cooking until onions are tender.  Add the can tomatoes, the cans of soup, and the seasonings.  Bring to a boil and then add the milk and squares of cream cheese and turn down heat. 

As the soup starts to reheat, make sure that you mash your squares of cream cheese (I use a big spoon to find the squares and a fork to mash them)  This is not as tedious as it sounds...only takes a few minutes.  You will still have small bits of cream cheese in the soup...that makes it good.  Keep your soup on medium low burner and stir.  At this point you can change it over to a slow cooker (crock pot).  Or cook for about 20 minutes stirring to be sure it doesn't stick. Make some grilled cheese sandwiches and you've got youself a great fall meal.