How To Make Homemade Tomato Soup

                It’s canning season again and my tomatoes are doing very well.

There are so many things you can do with tomatoes. You can make tomato juice, paste, spaghetti sauce or just eat them straight from your garden. I decided to use my Grandmothers recipe and try to make homemade tomato soup. My Grandmother gave my mother a lot of homemade recipes and now they have been passed down to me, so I can pass them onto my readers. This recipe is very simple to make and most people have all the ingredients right at home. I made a very big batch of this and I canned the soup for the winter, but you can also just make the basic small recipe and eat the soup right away.

Tomato Soup Recipe

                4 cups tomatoes (juiced)                                         1 small onion (chopped)

4 garlic cloves (minced)                                           2 cups chicken broth (option, take 2 bouillon cubes and dissolve them in 2 cups of hot water)

                2 Tablespoons butter                                               2 Tablespoons flour

                1 teaspoon salt                                                         2 teaspoons sugar

1.       Pick your tomatoes from your garden and wash them up, or buy some fresh tomatoes from a store. I like my own tomatoes since I grew them and they were free.

2.       Cut your tomatoes into chunks and put into a large kettle.

3.       Boil and smash your tomatoes as they cook until they are soft.

4.       Pour your tomatoes into your food processor or food mill like I am going to use. Since my Grandmother gave me the recipe I can at least use her food mill for pressing the juice through. I like doing it the old fashion way, this reminds me of my Grandmother.

5.       Take a little dish with a tight cover and pour about 2 cups of your tomato juice in with the 2 Tablespoons of flour, shake well. This will help thicken your soup.

6.       In a separate pan fry up your chopped onions and garlic in your 2 Tablespoons of butter. If you do not want to buy whole garlic, try minced garlic in a jar from a store. 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic is about 1 whole garlic clove. Fry your garlic and onions slowly until soft ( do not burn or brown them).

7.       When your onions and garlic are done add them to your tomato juice. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy your soup.

If you want to make a big batch of tomato soup like I do, here’s how to can the soup.

1.       After your soup has simmered, pour into your canning jars (either pint or quart jars). I made one batch with pint jars and today I am doing quart jars.

2.       Boil your lids and screw on the covers very tightly.

3.       Place in your pressure canner at 10# of pressure for 55 minutes for pints and 1 hour and 30 minutes for quarts. Again be sure to check your canners directions to make sure this is correct for your canner.

4.       After they are cooled for 1-day remove covers and label and date your jars. Enjoy your soup all year round.

This soup is great on a cold winter day just by itself or with a nice grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy this soup right away or later when you are ready to pop open a can to eat. This recipe is very simple to make. My Grandmother would be proud to know I am sharing her recipes with other. Enjoy a great bowl of soup from Suzie Homemaker.