it's still cold enough for soup

Last week, when I was shopping at "Sams", I noticed that an industrial sized can of diced tomatoes was only $2.88.
That's 6 lbs. 6 oz. of tomatoes !
Well, I couldn't just leave them sitting there, could I?   I thought I might be able to use them for a big pot of tomato soup.   We are still having some cool days when soup just hits the spot.

Here is what I started with...not really a recipe.

I diced up the veggies and sauteed them in olive oil and butter.(I only used a couple of cloves of garlic - not the whole bulb).

Then I added the tomatoes including the juice, and spices.

After it simmered about an hour, I pureed a bit with the immersion blender. I didn't want it to be completely smooth...we like some chunkiness.

Next, some half &half.  

 Then I diced up about 3 ounces of queso cheese (not shown) and stirred it in until it melted. That helped to thicken it up a little and gave it a rich creamy taste.

At the table we spooned in some reheated leftover yellow  rice and added a dash of hot sauce.

It's a healthy soup because of the vitamin C, fiber, and lycopene...but the butter, half &half and cheese keeps it from being low calorie.

My other good deal at Sams...these 4 pack cans of black beans, the larger 30 oz. size...$2.91 for 4 cans.  That's just under 73 cents per can.

Hmmm....bean soup, beans and rice, corn and bean salsa,  beef and bean burritos.........