Western Tomato Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
3 tablespoons finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can tomato soup
1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pinch sugar (optional)

Preparation

In a stockpot or large dutch oven, cook bacon until crisp; drain and set aside, reserving bacon drippings in pot.
Saute celery, onion, and green pepper in bacon drippings until softened; add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes; whisk together milk and tomato soup, then pour gradually into pot and stir until smooth; add all ingredients except bacon; heat and stir over medium heat until soup is slightly thickened.
Top with crumbled bacon and serve. Note that the soup may be pureed. I like to rough-puree mine until it is mostly smooth, but has some small pieces of tomatoes and veggies remaining.