This has got to be one of my easiest recipes ever!  Here you can present your family or guests with tomato soup made completely (well almost, except for the meatballs) from scratch.  Try this once and you’ll be hooked!

I mention in another post under “Garden”, what I do when I’ve got too many tomatoes coming from my garden, I mean, you can only eat so many!  I wash and freeze them, and this is a recipe using those frozen tomatoes.  Of course, canned can also be used.  But for the freshest flavor, nothing beats the produce from last summers’ garden.

I start by using 3 of my quart sized bags of frozen tomatoes, (see pic).  If you are using canned, use 3 large cans (quart size) of peeled whole tomatoes.

salt and pepper to taste

fresh finely chopped or dried basil (about 1 tbsp.)

1/2 cup fat free half and half

approx. 12-15 mini frozen meatballs

Place the tomatoes in a large pot and bring to a gentle boil.  Boil until tomatoes are completely mush, about 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.  In a blender, in small batches, process the tomatoes completely until they are finely ground.  The soup should already look ‘creamy’.  Pour into a stock pot, add salt and pepper and the basil to taste.  Stir in the half and half.  Add the meatballs. Return to low heat and heat until warmed through and meatballs are heated through as well.  Do not allow to boil.