Tomato Cheese Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 (14 ounce) cans tomatoes, undrained and chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 lb mushroom, chopped
1 large cooking onion, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon white sugar
8 cups beef stock
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon thyme
3 ounces cream cheese
salt and pepper
parsley (for garnish)

Preparation

Place the tomatoes, with juice, in a buttered oven-proof baking dish.
Add the celery, garlic and red pepper and cover and bake in a 325 degree oven for 25 minutes.
Saute the mushrooms and onion in the second batch of butter in a large stock pot for about 8 minutes.
While stirring, slowly add the flour and sugar, blending until mixture is very smooth.
Add the stock, basil, rosemary and thyme, stirring until soup comes to a boil.
Add the contents of the baked tomato pan from the oven and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the cream cheese, salt and pepper until smooth.
Slowly stir the cream cheese into the soup.
Garnish with chopped parsley.