Creamy Tomato Soup

Mmmmm Mmmmmm good!  Way better than the other famous tomato soup from a can and easy peasy to make. I made some pizza dough scones to go with it.  They are not traditional scones, but I loooove the texture of these in this soup. I first discovered this similar recipe, this is my version, from Hank's Mother and Sister Carole.  It was Caroles hubby Ron's favorite meal and this is what they made him for his Birthday. When I tried it, I instantly loved it.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup onion, diced small
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced small
• 1/2 cup celery, diced small
• 1 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juice reserved
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon marjoram
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and once hot, add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and saute about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, the tomatoes and their juices to the pan and stir. Continue to cook until the liquid comes to a boil. Add the chicken stock and marjoram to the pan and return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, season with the salt, pepper, and sugar and cook until the flavors have married, about 30 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat and, using an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender, puree the soup until smooth. Return the soup to the heat and add the balsamic vinegar and heavy cream to the soup. Cook for 5 minutes, stir the basil, and serve with yummy scones.

***Recipe for pizza dough for scones, on blog. Simply cut with scissors, a small piece of dough, and toss gently in clean vegetable oil and fry till golden brown. Heat oil on med.high. Drain on paper towel.

***These scones are also good sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and dipped in nutella!!!