Bread Tomato Soup - Comfort Food for the Cold Weather

I had an extra loaf of bread this past weekend and I was interested in how I could use it up. The majority of recipes suggested French Toast. I had tried that before with wonderful results but it really isn't something you want to eat for dinner. I came across a reference for bread soup which intrigued me. This supposedly was created in Italy to use up old bread. I found the following recipe below:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/tomato-and-bread-soup/detail.aspx

This is a great website if you haven't tried it before. I only wanted to do 4 servings and it adjusts the recipe accordingly.

I have made this soup twice, each slightly different ways. The first followed the original recipe. The second I was going by memory so I forgot a few things. It still tasted the same way. Here is my version:

1 can of diced Chili tomatoes by Alymers - they are on sale for $0.99 right now at Price Chopper

1 tsp of minced garlic

1/2 loaf of french bread

1 1/2 chicken bouillon cubes

3 cups of water

4 to 8 tbsp of olive oil (see instructions below)

Slice the bread up into 1/2 inch slices - if you are using day old bread you can do this. I used week old bread today and I needed to microwave it first to cut it. I then tore it up into small pieces. The older the bread, the harder it is to do this. It still tastes good if you have large pieces of bread.

You will need a large stock pot - something you would cook pasta in or something that will hold 3 cups of water and the can of tomatoes.

I heated the pot and put the bread in it. The original recipe called for 4 tbsp of olive oil but I found this did not cover the bread so I added olive oil until the bread was covered. I then heated the bread until it was lightly toasted. I added a tsp of minced garlic and the can of tomatoes. I simmered for 8 minutes.

I then made three cups of chicken broth using the bouillon and added it to the soup. Simmer for 10 minutes.

This made four servings. If there are 2 of you, three servings if you like seconds.

If you want to make it vegetarian, use the vegetable broth.

You can add chili flakes but with the seasoned tomatoes you don't really need any spice.