Amazing Italian Tomato Soup

This is one of my recipes prepared on christmas eve 2005 as part of a holiday spaghetti dinner. It was easy to prepare, and has outstanding flavor.

Brown and drain your ground beef.

Set it aside in a covered bowl until ready to use.

Chop your onions , celery , and garlic finely.

Slice your tomatoes discarding the end pieces.

Lightly spray the bottom of a 5 quart stewpot with cooking spray.

Saute your onions , celery , and garlic until the celery is fork-tender.

Add your chicken broth.

If you prefer your soup with a thicker consistency , reduce the amount of chicken broth , or increase the amount of fire roasted tomatoes.

Bring to a gentle boil , then add all other ingredients except the ground beef.

Continue to boil about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to simmer and add your browned ground beef.

Omit the groud beef if you want a vegetarian soup.

Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add salt , pepper , and more italian seasoning to suit your taste preferences.

Serve with a variety of toppings on the side which your guests can add on their own.

Shredded italian cheeses , grated parmesan cheese , chopped spring onions , and s.

fire-roasted tomatoes, roma tomatoes, celery, onion, minced garlic clove, chicken broth, italian seasoning, ground beef