Our recipe for creamy tomato soup is so easy you will wonder why you settled for canned soup for so long.

I have included a bit of dried Italian seasoning as an option in this recipe, but you can simply leave it out if you want a more traditional homemade tomato bisque or soup.

I think you will love it.

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 - 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the garlic, onion, and oil. Cook over medium-high heat for 1 or 2 minutes to soften and flavor the oil. Add the tomatoes with juice, broth and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender. Return to the pot and stir in the milk. Salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

• Add 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning for an Italian style tomato soup. Add it right at the beginning as you cook the garlic and onion. If using the dried herbs, add a couple of tablespoons of water.

• This is a delicious traditional tomato soup recipe or tomato bisque. You can use this as the base for a vegetable soup as well. Just add a few vegetables at the same time that you add the tomatoes to the pot. Cook for a bit longer if the vegetables need it.

• Add more garlic if you are a garlic lover. This recipe tastes wonderful with 3 or 4 cloves of garlic too. If you don't like garlic feel free to leave it out.

• For a vegetarian soup, replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock or broth.

• As with most soup recipes, this one can easily be doubled if you need a larger batch.