Fresh Tomato Soup, Cosi Style

My coworker Humera got my hooked on Cosi Tomato Basil Soup.  I had tried a recipe a few weeks earlier from my favorite cooking friend and coworker Melanie.  When she made it, it looked and smelled awesome.  When I made it, it turned out more like liquid tomato sauce.  The second my lips hit the Cosi tomato soup, I knew I needed the recipe.  It is creamy, smooth, basily and just all around awesome. 
It was our turn for Small Group Dinner so Paul and I made my version of the cosi tomato basil soup the night before (takes about 5 min prep time, with 20 min of cooking time) and then added in a Pannini Grilled Cheese station to go with it.  We all had fun making our own sandwiches and it was another easy, affordable and fun meal. 

 Link to Grilled Cheese Station:

Cosi Soup Recipe, which I found after a short google search

Tomato Basil Soup
I doubled this and added a bottle of v8 tomato juice in order to make this for 10 people.  In the end there was close to 15-18 servings!
(4 servings)

1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (28 oz.) can of diced or crushed tomatoes, drained
2 cups half & half, cream, 2% milk or soy creamer, heated
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp white pepper
Salt

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant, stirring often. Add tomato paste; stir and cook for 30 seconds. Add drained tomatoes, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Puree with a stick blender in the saucepan or transfer to a blender to puree. Return to saucepan and stir in heated creamer, fresh basil, sugar, garlic powder, white pepper and salt to taste.

Serve with grilled cheese or toasted bread if desired.