Yummy Dipping Stuff!

Some girlfriends and I decided to do a recipe swap to help "spice up" our dinners. I was way excited to have received such yummy ideas that I started trying the new recipes right away. One was for La Madeline's tomato basil soup. WOW, is it delicious. We made it with grilled cheese sandwiches that we ended up cutting like croutons and dropping in the soup. Andrew ate every last drop and requests the "yummy dipping stuff" every time we have grilled cheese sandwiches. I thought I would share the recipe for you all to hopefully enjoy as much as we have. It is very easy to make.

4 cups (8 to 10) tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed (I use one 28 oz. can of crushed + one 14 oz. can of whole that I then crush as I put them in the pan).

4 cups tomato juice or mixture of tomato juice and vegetable or chicken stock (I use one 11.5 oz. can of tomato juice + one 14.5 oz. can of chicken broth). You can buy single cans of vegetable juice at Wal-Mart on the juice aisle.

12-14 fresh basil leaves (it is worth planting basil just for this recipe).

1 cup whipping cream

1 stick sweet unsalted butter, softened

salt to taste

1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper (I just use regular pepper).

Combine tomatoes and juice (or juice-stock mixture) in a saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Cool slightly, then place in a blender or food processor with the 12-14 basil leaves. Process to puree. (This will need to be done in batches. I found that my blender is good to have about 1 and a half cups at a time so that it does not leap up and burn your hand while blending).

Return mixture to the saucepan and add cream and butter. Stir over low heat until cream and butter are incorporated. Stir in salt and pepper before serving. Garnish with basil leaves.

This makes about 10 cups of soup. Each eat half and then freeze half!