Homemade Tomato Soup

Recently, I visited a good friend in California who happens to be an amazing chef. She was gracious enough to teach me how to make homemade tomato soup on a night we decided to stay in and relax. It was DELICIOUS and I have been hooked ever since.

It doesn't take too long to make this soup from scratch. Here's how:

Ingredients:

4 carrots

1 white onion

5-7 garlic cloves

1 small box of organic chicken broth

3 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

2 cups of half and half

2 bay leaves

Directions:

Peel and dice carrots, onion and garlic cloves. Sautee in pan on medium heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil for about 10-15 minutes.

Pour in chicken broth, diced tomatoes and half and half. Add the bay leaves and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Remove bay leaves. Blend mixture until creamy. I use a hand held blender (found HERE) and it is amazing! It definitely eliminates the mess of transferring the soup into a regular blender.

Serve hot with a grilled cheese or panini of your choice! ENJOY!