Lazy Cheap Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 0.25 cups double concentration tomato paste
• 0.5 cups ketchup
• 1.5T Vegetable Better than Bullion
• 1.25oz grated Parmesan cheese
• 2t sugar
• 1T olive oil
• black pepper
• garlic powder
• Italian seasoning (or oregano)

Process

Cook tomato paste and olive oil over medium low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add ketchup, water, sugar, and bullion. Bring to a boil. Add pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese and lower to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool briefly then serve.

Notes

This is better than you think. Sure, you can make tomato soup with canned crushed tomatoes and heavy cream, but what if you don’t have those things on hand? It’s hard to believe, but this is at least as good as the stuff that comes in a can or tetra pack—maybe even a bit better. For a creamier texture, feel free to thicken with a bit of corn starch slurry or a few tablespoons of rice (be sure to simmer for 20-30 minutes if you go with the rice) if you are feeling lazy ambitious. Even if not, once you taste the final product, you would never guess this was a ketchup and tomato paste based venture.

For bonus points, serve with a grilled cheese (I mean, let’s be honest, how else would you serve this?) and a tall glass of water (because this is soup and it is salty). I’ll Venmo the first 37 people who try this and don’t like it $1.09, so long as you promise not to lie—if you do, I will know.