Recipe of the Week: Panera Bread Creamy Tomato Soup

Since childhood, tomato soup has been my favorite.  I've had several canned varieties over the years, but I don't think anything beats homemade (plus canned varieties are heavy in sugar and sodium).

One of our favorite places to grab a weekend lunch is Panera Bread and they have just about the best tomato soup on the planet.

How lucky and I?  I was able to find this recipe gem on the Internet.

Enjoy!
Stacy

Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

5 tablespoons flour

4 cups milk

1 bay leaf leaf

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups crushed tomatoes

Directions:

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until the onion is soft but not browned.

Sprinkle the flour over the onion and continue stirring; cook for 1-2 minutes.

Slowly add the milk, bay leaf, pepper, oregano, sugar and salt and continue to cook until slightly thickened.

Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes, then add the tomatoes to the soup pot and bring to a simmer.

Notes:  Adding baking soda to the tomatoes keeps the milk from curdling