Tomato Soup

It is said that necessity is the mother of all inventions. For the last 2 years or so before we came to Costa Rica, we had a tradition of eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for Sunday night dinners. In Costa Rica we have had a hard time finding tomato soup. There is only one store that carries it and it is very expensive. We have been able to buy Hunts tomato paste at Pricemart which is owned by Sam's Club and carries some familiar brands. The tomato paste is not cheap but it is reasonably priced. I began to think that surely I could make some tomato soup from the tomato paste. I researched allrecipes.com and kind of made up my own recipe after experimenting a time or two. The amounts are large but remember we are cooking for 9 people. So for good tomato soup that sure beats what is in the can, try this:

Ingredients:

3 six ounce cans of tomato paste
1 tsp of dried onion flakes
1 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of basil
1 Tbsp of Lawry's seasoning salt
1 Tbsp of regular salt
36 ounces of water
35-50 ounces of milk

Directions:

1. Mix 1 can tomato paste with one can(tomato paste can) of water. Whisk until smooth. I usually put it in a pan on medium heat which makes it smooth easier. Once it is smooth add another can of water and whisk until smooth. This process will make the paste the consistency of tomato sauce. Put aside.
2. Repeat step one for cans 2 and 3 of the tomato paste. It is much easier to get the paste to mix with water if you make one can at a time and then add cans two and three to can one as they are made.
3. Add onion flakes, paprika, garlic, basil, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, table salt to the mixture and stir. Heat on low or put in a crock pot for one to two hours.
4. Ten to fifteen minutes before you are ready to eat, add the milk and stir. For thicker soup add 35 or so ounces of milk. For more volume add up to 50 ounces of milk. Heat to your desired temperature. For extra creamy soup substitute evaporated milk for regular milk. (We added evaporate milk this past Sunday and it was really good).
5. We like to serve the soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and Cheezit crackers. It surely beats what comes in a can and is very quick and easy to make.

Enjoy!!