Green Tomato Soup

Do you love the taste of fried green tomatoes but hate the grease, or don't have time to make them, or are just lazy (like me) sometimes but really want that taste?  This is the soup for you then!  It takes almost no time to prepare and freezes amazingly, I always make several pots toward the end of the season and freeze so I can enjoy it year round =)

GREEN TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

4 to 6 ounces country ham or smoked ham, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use like 5-6, but I LOVE garlic)
4 cups chicken broth (less if you want it thicker, I use about 3)
8 medium green tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium red tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed, minced (any hot pepper will work, I've used habenaro, jalapeno, serrano and chili - whatever I've got on hand and I make this at LEAST once a week when I've got green tomatoes available)
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
dash Tabasco sauce, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat; add ham, onion, and garlic. Sauté, stirring, until onion is tender. Add chicken broth, chopped green and red tomatoes, and minced  pepper (I forget to add the peppers about half the time, it's awesome with or without). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

If desired you can pulse in blender or food processor at this point till almost smooth, personally I like it chunky but some people don't. Add salt/pepper/tobasco/whatever to fit your tastes and enjoy. Pairs awesome with some GF cornbread =)