Better than Campbells Creamy Tomato Soup!

Tomato Soup (especially with a yummy grilled cheese) is the ultimate comfort food for me. I've tried many a recipe and love them all, but my girls don't like any basil or garlic or anything that looks funny in their soup... I've never found one to please them. I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it might work because it was creamy and smooth -- no crazy textures to bother them. I was so excited to find that it is very similar (but even better!) to my favorite tomato soup of my youth! (Even though I don't touch canned soups now, very few meals make me as nostalgic as tomato soup and grilled cheese -- we used to eat it almost every Sunday!) I used fresh, whole milk from my farmer and a jar of strained tomatoes from Tropical Traditions. Super creamy and delicious!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups tomato or v-8 juice (I used strained tomatoes)

3 cups milk

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar (I used sucanat)

Toppings if choice (croutons, basil, parmesan, feta, blue cheese, pasta, french bread, etc)

Directions: Melt butter, stir in flour. Blend well; make sure there are no lumps. Add tomato juice and stir until thickened. Add baking soda; blend well. Add milk, sugar, and salt. Serve while hot!