Creamy Tomato Soup

I needed to take dinner into a couple of people and was looking for a soup that would be easy to reheat leftovers and comforting to those on the mend. I found this recipe I had clipped from the USA Weekend in December '08. For a homemade soup, this is very easy. Also, I usually can't stomach canned tomato soups because of macaroni and tomato issues as a child, but I really enjoyed it and the hubby finished three bowls.

*1 TBSP. olive oil
*1 large onion, chopped
*1 1/2 TBSP Italian seasoning
*2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes (I used diced)
*1 tsp. baking soda
*2 c. chicken broth
*1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
*salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute until tender, 5-7 minutes. Stir in Italian seasoning; cook until fragrant, less than a minute. Add tomatoes and baking soda, then chicken broth; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered to blend flavors, about 10 minutes.
Puree soup until creamy smooth, either by working batches of the soup through your blender or save a big mess and a lot of effort by using your immersion blender. (If you don't have an immersion blender, get one. I truly use mine almost every day.) Return soup to pot, stir in milk and heat to simmer, seasoning with salt and pepper. Soup can be refrigerated 3 days before serving and I froze a batch and it worked great. Next time I freeze it I'll just add the milk when I reheat.Makes 10 cups, appx. 8 servings. We had this with fresh bread the first time and grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches with the reheat...yummy. I also think this would be yummy with some mushroom ravioli and a little balsamic vinegar.