Tomato Soup, 2 ways

First off here is my dining room table in decoration progress - a little too dark for my taste but I am trying to lighten it up.
Now on to food.  In my daily life I bounce recipe ideas for my family off members of the Hill Family.  We know what they eat & they know what we eat - so well we even make modifications for the other family's preferences.  I thought it would be interesting to see how different our versions of the same recipe would be. Two things you must keep in mind here - the Hills are also feeding children & my husband is a very picky eater in ways Jennifer's is not and vice versa.  So my modifications are more of an adaptation for my husband's palate and not a correction to anyone's creations.  The following is Jennifer Hill's recipe for Tomato Soup and then there is my version of tomato soup. You deserve both!!! (Jen - I hope you don't mind me posting it).

Jennifer Hill's Tomato Soup with Cheddar Cheese Dumplings
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons of butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 block of cheddar, diced
1 can Grands biscuits
Salt & Pepper
Bring tomatoes, butter, 14 ounces of water, salt and pepper to a boil.  During this time open biscuits, separate and quarter each.  Add a piece of cheese to each quartered biscuit and roll into a ball encasing the cheese. Once all cheddar dumplings are rolled, add cream to soup and bring to a boil, then add dumplings the to the soup, bring to a boil again and then turn down to medium.  Watch soup, once the dough is done you will see the cheese start to ooze a little - they are ready - serve & enjoy!!!

My version of Jennifer Hill's Tomato Soup

Lara's Tomato Basil Soup (totally ripped off from Jennifer Hill)
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes w/ chilies, drained
3 tablespoons butter
8 medium Basil leaves, thinly sliced
Salt & Pepper - heavy on both
1 cup fat free 1/2 & 1/2
3 slices crispy turkey bacon, diced
2 oz Parmesan cheese mixed with 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
Warm loaf of garlic bread
Mix first 5 ingredients together and bring to a boil, let simmer for 15 minutes, add half & half, bring back to a boil & reduce to low - let sit for another 5 minutes or so.  Serve topped with crumbled bacon and seasoned Parmesan cheese accompanied by warm garlic bread.

The soup was awesome, can only imagine how heavenly it would be with the Cheddar Dumplings!!!  Also both are perfect fall work night dinners!  Thank you Jen!!!  Please enjoy both!!!