4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Medium onion, chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
2 Cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth or
one can of cream of chicken and one can of water
2 Cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes in juice (with basil if available)
8 Baby carrots cut small

Directions:

In a 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat; add oil and onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.
To saucepan, add thyme, broth, and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with your fingers. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, 30 minutes. (Remove thyme sprigs before blending.)
Using an immersion blender, puree soup in pot, leaving a fair amount of the tomatoes in chunks. Or, working in several batches, puree half (5 cups) of the soup in a conventional blender until smooth; return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperature before dividing among airtight containers (leaving 1 inch of space at the top) and freezing.

Difficulty Level: Easy