I basically followed the recipe, but added some basil and celery seed and changed the amounts a bit. Here’s my version.

Tomato, Bacon, and Bean Soup

1/4 pound bacon, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. dry onion (or 1 onion, diced)
2 c. potatoes, peeled and diced
2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
2 15-oz. cans white beans, undrained
32 oz. chicken broth
1 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. celery seed
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

I like to dice the bacon before cooking so I don’t have to crumble it later. I eye-balled the pound of bacon, cut off 1/4 of it, and diced that.

I like a one pan method, so I started with the stock pot.

Brown the diced bacon (and the onion, if using fresh) in the stock pot until the bacon is crisp. Drain off the grease. I remove the pot from the heat, tip it to pool the grease, scrape the bacon to one side, and use a wad of three or four paper towels to soak up the grease. If I had four arms, I’d have taken a picture for you, but I was cooking alone. So no picture of grease sopping.

Add the minced garlic and stir well. Don’t cook the garlic too long or it will leave a bitter flavor.

While the bacon cooked, I peeled and diced the potatoes.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Salt and pepper to taste. I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Next time, I think I’ll add a little less.

The original recipe called for blending a portion of the soup and returning that to the pot. I skipped that step. I like chunky soup. And it’s just one more thing to wash…

Delicious with crunchy toasted homemade bread. DD practically inhaled her bowl of soup.

~~Rhonda

The bread for the sandwiches came out of the oven and was immediately sliced and toasted. Oh, so good!

Tomato Soup
You can use fresh celery and onion in this if you like. Dice and sweat the amount you want in some vegetable oil or butter and add them to the soup. But I want something fast and easy, so I use alternative ingredients. DH is allergic to onion, so I have to use a small amount of dry onion in recipes rather than lovely fresh onions.

3 cups cooked small pasta
1 (29-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp. dry onion
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic, minced)
2 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. dry basil
1 cup half ‘n half (cream or milk may be substituted)

Combine all ingredients. Heat and serve. Yummy as leftovers, too, though the pasta breaks up a bit.

~~Rhonda