Most people eat tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. My family likes to eat it with grilled pimento cheese sandwiches.  The pimento cheese gets hot and oozes out of the sides of the crunchy toasted bread.  This recipe is from my dear friend and gourmet cook, Emily Jordan. 

Emily’s Tomato Soup

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon dried minced onion 
32 ounces Campbell’s tomato juice
1 small bay leaf

Melt butter in a stockpot over medium high heat. Add salt and pepper. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Stir and cook 1 minute. Gradually add milk whisking until thick. Use a silicone spatula to scrape the sides, bottom, and corners of the stockpot, to get any hidden roux into the milk. 

Whisk in dried onion and tomato juice. Add bay leaf. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.  Makes 5 cups. Recipe can be doubled. Enjoy!