R&J's Creamy Tomato Soup (with asiago croutons)

Since it's Thankful Thursday I'll start out by saying how thankful I am for the GORGEOUS weather that's been happening! R and I played some tennis last night because he said it was too nice out to not go do s.o.m.e.t.h.i.n.g. out there. 

On to the real post...........
I only love tomato soup from 2 places - Panera and an Irish restaurant in Downtown Disney. 

I like it creamy and I don't like chunks of tomato. 

We made this recipe and it's pretty much our new favorite soup. 

R&J’s creamy tomato soup (with asiago croutons)

ingredients:

1 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 and 1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 (14 oz) cans peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half (OR substitute 3/4 tablespoon butter + 1/4 cup milk + 2 T milk) (we've used a combination of things depending on what we had available in the fridge)
1 and 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
A dash of red pepper flakes
1/4ish cup of parmesan cheese

directions:

In pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion powder. Saute until fragrant.

Add canned tomatoes (juice and all), chicken broth, sugar, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a low simmer. Cook uncovered until it has thickened.

Add the heavy cream (or heavy cream substitute listed above) and the parmesan cheese. 

Using an immersion blender (or carefully transfer soup to a blender), puree soup until there are no large chunks left. (our immersion blender broke so last time we made this we had to use the blender. Worked great). 

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with asiago croutons.