Meatless Monday! Tomato Soup

I have my little tomato seedlings happily germinating on my window sill. I'm dreaming of the summer when I can pick 3 pounds of homegrown 'maters and throw them into a crockpot to make this soup. Last year my crop wasn't big enough to pick 3 pounds at once, so I'd have to beg and borrow from friends. This year, though, I have high hopes for my own crop.

Here's the delicious recipe from the Crockpot Lady.

Ingredients

-- 3 lbs. Vine Ripened Tomatoes
--1 med onion, chopped
--2 cups tomato juice
--1 cup cooking sherry
--3 T granulated white sugar
--1 gluten-free chicken boullion cube (I use veggie)
--2 T chopped fresh basil

to add later:

--2 cups heavy cream (don't skimp on the heavy cream! Splurge!)
--salt and pepper to taste

optional:
sour cream and/or Parmesan cheese for garnish

The Directions.

Use a 5-6 quart crockpot for this soup.

Wash all of your tomatoes, and cut them in quarters. Nope, we're not going to peel the tomatoes, yay! To save your counter top from tomato gook, put your cutting board on a cookie sheet with sides. The juice will then stay inside the cookie sheet.

Put all the tomatoes in your crockpot.

Chop up the onion, and add it. Cover with the tomato juice and sherry, and drop in the boullion cube. Stir in the sugar and chopped basil.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

If you'd like your soup to have chunks, go ahead and stir in the cream. If you'd prefer a chunk-free soup, CAREFULLY use an immersible blender to soupify, or blend in small batches in a traditional blender. Then stir in the heavy cream.