I wanted to a soup that was Weight Watcher friendly to go with my lunches this week.  I decided on Tomato Florentine Soup from my trusty Rosemary Brown's Big Kitchen Instruction Book.  I mentioned how much I like this cookbook before, and I have to say that I've made several soups from here and loved them all!

Then I got thinking and realized I didn't want any jealousy in our house, so I asked Branny if I could submit another soup recipe to her Souper Bowl.  After all, I have 2 "little girls" and I think Coon's feelings might have been hurt if I didn't give her a dedication.


Coon was rescued by JR during a snow storm 4 years ago.  She was 3 months old at the time, and so tiny!  How could someone let her fend for herself, nevermind through a storm!  She's grown into quite the hellion, but we love her nonetheless.

The changes I made to the recipe are included here:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 21 oz. beef broth (you could use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian)
• 3 cups water
• 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach
• 28 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
• 15 oz. tomato sauce
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• dash Tabasco sauce

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and saute onion over medium heat until soft. Add beef broth and water, and bring to a boil  Add spinach and return to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat to a simmer.

Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.  Serves 6.

Notes: The recipe says to add 3 cups of small pasta 10 minutes before the soup is done, but I decided to leave the pasta out this time and have this soup with a grilled cheese sandwich instead.

I also like to add a bit of light sour cream to give it a creamy soup feel.