Tomato Bisque from home canned tomatoes

I really love canning, so when I had a friend, and then another friend gave me30 lbs of tomatoes each I sorta had a canning party... I was the only one invited, my family scattered. So it's now winter and I have a bunch of canned tomatoes that I need to figure out what to do with... pizza sauce, chili base, salsa is all really good but what about tomato bisque? (fancy word for creamy chunky tomato soup.)

Tomato Bisque, so good you wish you had some for leftovers... in that case double it! I served this with grilled cheese.

You can use this recipe with any canned tomatoes you get at the grocery store,  I have also been known to do this recipe with spaghetti sauce, (especially when it's a good deal- around January and February, you can get tomato sauce for $1 a jar.) don't add spices, although I would add basil to the soup if you're using spaghetti sauce.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Home-Canned Tomatoes (serves 4-6)

Ingredients adapted from Farm Fresh Feast

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion (or use a 1/4 cup of dried onions)
• 1 ½ teaspoons flour
• 1 quart crushed tomatoes
• 1-quart stock (I used one can 14.5 oz of Swanson's broth)
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh basil
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste (Alanna shares a simple tip for the rest of the can)
• 2 cloves roasted garlic (I used the garlic that comes in a jar)
• 1 piece Parmesan rind (ask your fancy cheese counter to sell ya some cheap don't skip this ingredient, it's worth the flavor!)
• ¾ teaspoon salt (I used kosher)
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 6 ounces (by volume) evaporated milk Or heavy whipping cream, or milk (depends on of your texture of the base you want. I used heavy whipping cream.)

instructions

1. In a large pot (at least 3.5 quarts) over medium heat, melt the butter. 
2. Add onion and sauté for 5 to 8 minutes until softened. 
3. Sprinkle flour over top, stir to coat with butter, and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes until lightly browned.  
4. Stir in tomatoes, stock, pesto, tomato paste, garlic, parmesan rind and seasonings.  
5. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes up to 2 hours. 
6. Before serving remove the parmesan rind and stir in the evaporated milk. Use an immersion blender (or puree in batches) if you like a smooth soup.

It's that simple! I didn't actually puree it, I thought it cooked up pretty good, I liked the textured of having some tomatoes in the soup.