This toasty little bowl of memories brings me back to the days of living in the renovated shed. Since this recipe only required the use of my plug-in burner and smoothie-maker, it was the perfect meal to whip up after we got home.
I used the slightly-bruised tomatoes from the garden center where I worked, which made this meal even better – healthy, homemade, and practically free.
Not sure where I heard the original recipe, but the card is written in my aunt’s handwriting. So thank you, dear aunt, for inspiring these scrumptious memories.
5-Ingredient Tomato Soup
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 2 T. Butter or olive oil
- 1/2 C. Chopped onion
- 2 (14.5 oz) Cans diced tomatoes OR 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes & 2 C. diced fresh or frozen-thawed tomato (I experiment with the ratio of fresh to canned tomatoes almost every time, so this recipe is fairly forgiving)
- 1 C. Chicken broth
- 1 C. Heavy cream OR half and half OR a combination of sour cream and water (again, you can experiment)
- Optional as garnish: oregano, chives, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium-sized saucepan, sauté onions in butter or oil until they are translucent
- Add tomatoes, broth, and cream to saucepan
- Stir to combine
- Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes (about 10-15 minutes if using fresh tomatoes)
- Blend soup in blender until smooth (NOTE: when blending something hot, only fill blender about halfway, because the mixture will expand significantly while you blend)
- Garnish as desired
- Serve with crackers, salad, or cheese toast
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
What kind of foods bring you fond memories of simple days?
Even without the soup, cheese toast reminds me of my childhood. I had to improvise since we didn’t own a toaster oven. I remember standing much too close to the microwave, excitedly watching the cheese melt and bubble all over my toast. 20 seconds = perfect cheese toast.
Cheers,
P.S. This post is participating Frugal Friday – check it out to read great tips on saving money and beating debt!
8 comments
1 ping
Skip to comment form ↓
Rebecca Burgener
10/22/2010 at 7:51 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I didn’t have the wonderful experience that you did of not having access to “needed” items. (I really wish I had. Life would be so different.) But I do vividly remember one of the first “dinners” I cooked as a married woman.
It was a hamburger helper meal. (Don’t laugh. I barely knew how to cook at all.) The instructions called for a lid on the frying pan. I didn’t have a frying pan with a lid so I taped four paper plates together and told myself, “When all else fails, improvise!”
The meal turned out pretty good, but I am ever so glad that I’m past the hamburger helper every night days because I don’t know how to cook anything else.
Steph
10/23/2010 at 1:59 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Carrie – You made my day.
. Way to go improvising as a newbie!
Rebecca – Lol! …Oops… you said not to laugh…. Don’t worry, I’ve bought tuna helper before too
Carrie
10/23/2010 at 4:36 AM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You could also substitute the tomatoes with pumpkin or another squash, it is that time of year!
Sounds yummy, thank you!!! I am really enjoying your posts, you have helped me step up the grocery budget to even more gazelle intensity.
Karissa
11/01/2010 at 12:24 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I just made this for lunch today, made this gloomy, gray weather today tolerable. Yummy and so easy!
Karissa
01/03/2011 at 1:32 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
For Christmas Eve I was looking for something a little more “decadent” when we had all of our family over so I added cream cheese and some hot sauce and holy cow delicious! Not at all good for you, but really good for an occasional treat
Thanks again for the inspiration!
Steph
01/03/2011 at 1:41 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Karissa – WOW! That sounds fantastic!!!!
Tara
12/08/2011 at 1:14 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
My husband loves Campbell’s tomato soup. I made this for lunch today and he loved it, as did our 2 year old! This was super easy to make and I felt so much better serving something a lot healthier than canned soup. Thanks a bunch!!
Steph
12/08/2011 at 2:21 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Tara – Glad they liked it! We used to like canned soup, but after eating this for awhile, when we tried the canned stuff again we agreed that this recipe rocked.
The Cheapskate Cook » 6 – I Mean 5 – Meals for Crazy Nights
02/03/2011 at 10:10 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] 5-Ingredient Tomato Soup (You don’t even need to prepare this one in advance, since it only takes about 10 minutes to whip up. Simply make sure you have the chicken or vegetable broth on hand) [...]