Taste Test Tuesday: Tomato Soup

Got tomatoes?  What’s for lunch?

This is a great way to use fresh produce from the garden.  I used fresh tomatoes, then dried and freeze-dried veggies for the rest, but you can substitute fresh for these too, I’m sure, and add as little or as many as you like.  If using fresh:  for the zucchini--cut into bite size slices; the carrots--shred or chop up to small pieces; onions & celery--chop to small pieces.  

Not only is this tomato soup good, it freezes well too!  It is very convenient to freeze in single serving portions and then reheat in the microwave for a real quick meal.

Freezing options:  1.  Use small containers (stackable ones are nice) that are also microwaveable.  Label container (use masking tape if don’t want to write on container).  Pour portion into container, freeze.  When ready to eat, remove lid, heat in microwave for 2-3 minutes (depending on amount in container, if used masking tape, remove first).   2.  Freeze your soup in the bowl (microwaveable) you will be eating it from in the future.  Remove the frozen chunk of soup from bowl and place in a labeled freezer bag.  When ready to eat, simply remove the chunk of soup from the bag and place in your bowl, microwave 2-3 minutes or until heated through.  3.  Or you could just pour it into labeled freezer bags, lay them flat (on a cookie sheet is best, just in case it leaks) to freeze.  When ready to eat, remove from bag (may have to let defrost a little by running under hot water), and place in microwaveable container to heat through.

This tomato soup can be frozen for 3-4 months without any significant loss in flavor (at least in my opinion), maybe longer--but its always been eaten by this time, so I haven’t been able to try longer freezer times.   So a possible label for this tomato soup would be:  TOMATO SOUP 7/19/11, use by 11/19/11.  You can label it any way you want, I just find it helpful to include a use by date so I don’t have think too hard when I look at a food and wonder if it is still edible.
(this is an adapted recipe, the original can be found in the BHG red checkered cookbook)

Taste Test Tuesday:  If I’m ambitious enough, hopefully every Tuesday I’ll post a recipe that uses food storage items AND passed my family’s taste test.  Part of a planned food storage is rotating it and learning to use what we store.

When I say food storage items, I include:  Basic long-term food items (1 yr supply)-- wheat, rice, sugar/honey, flour, pasta, salt, oil, dried fruits/veggies, beans; 3 month supply food items--any non-perishable items usually incorporated into meals (canned goods, frozen goods, packaged mixes, etc.);  Garden--any produce, herbs, fruit, etc. grown in a home garden  (Like Lehi’s family, we too can store and plant seeds as a form of food storage)

ENJOY!