Mariner's Chunky Tomato Soup

One of my favorite comfort foods is tomato soup, and this is an easy, quick and tasty variant on ordinary tomato soup. I came up with this recipe while trying to duplicate a similar soup I had tasted in one of those soup-and-salad-bar restaurants.

Ingredients:

1 10 oz can condensed tomato soup.
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbs dried chives
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp generic Italian herb seasoning
½ tsp sea salt

Directions:

Use a 2½ quart sauce pan to make this dish.

Put the pan on a burner set to medium-high, and add the diced tomatoes to the pan. Tomato soup is well known for its ability to stick to and burn on the bottom of a pan. Adding the diced tomatoes first helps prevent this.

Add the condensed soup and dilute per the directions on the can. I use Campbell's™ tomato soup, but probably any ordinary tomato soup will do. Do not use cream of tomato! You don't need the starch, and it'll taste funny. Add the chives, basil and Italian seasoning. Stir vigorously, with a fork or whisk, to eliminate any lumps of the condensed soup. Add salt to taste.

Bring the mixture to a moderate rolling boil and hold it there for about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat and hold at a simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve hot in soup bowls, with garlic bread, corn bread, or crackers.

For a slightly different taste, and a more complete meal, cook about ½ lb of hotdogs or 2 cans of Vienna sausage in the boiling soup. Very tasty, and if you like tomato soup, it's great on a cold day!

Makes about 4 servings.

Mariner