Fancied-Up Tomato Soup

My whole life I've eaten tomato soup from a can (the condensed kind). My mom would usually add milk, but I never liked it much. My husband makes it using water, which I like much better. Tomato soup was never really been my favorite. Usually, I'm not much of a "soup" person because I have this weird thing against liquid food. It just makes me gag after a bit.

Then came the wonderful day when we tried the Tomato Basil Bisque from our grocery store. Oh my goodness! I had no idea tomato soup could be so delicious and so classy!
Recently, I tried to recreate the soup using canned soup, since that wonderful store stuff is $4 for a pint. Yikes!

So, here's my version:

Fancied-Up Tomato Soup


1 can condensed tomato soup
1 can of water (using the tomato soup can of course)
1 can diced tomatoes, including juice
1 Tbsp. dried minced onions
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, sliced thinly
dash of garlic powder
dash of cayenne pepper (for a little kick!)
dash of freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup cream (more or less according to your taste)

Whisk together the tomato soup and water. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cream. Heat until simmering. Stir in the cream right before serving.