Homemade Tomato Soup

With the cold winter weather on the horizon, there is nothing like a good homemade soup to keep you.  This is a very easy recipe to make your own homemade tomato soup, free of the preservatives found in canned tomato soup.  In addition, it is easy to freeze for another time.  I made one change to the recipe which came from Taste of Home magazine.  I used chicken stock instead of chicken broth to make it thicker.  This does however change the calorie count, which with the broth is only 120 calories.  For this recipe you will need the following:

     2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes with or without additional seasoning, undrained
     1/4 cup of butter
     1/2 cup of finely chopped red onion
     2 garlic cloves, minced
     6 tbsp all purpose flour
     48 oz of chicken broth (I used chicken stock)
     optional: grated cheese of your choice

     In a blender, process tomatoes with juices until pureed; set aside.  In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium high heat.  Add onion; cook and stir until tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. 
     Remove from the heat; stir in flour until smooth.  Place back on the heat and cook for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in the broth.  Add pureed tomatoes; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes to allow flavors to blend.  Serve with your favorite flavor of cheese and enjoy.