Bacon-lettuce and tomatoe soup

1-Dice the bacon ( Chef trick- Freeze the bacon and pull it out of the freezer and let thaw half way then dice ) much easier- reserve on side for cooking 2-Open your can of tomatoes and drain ( reserve the juice with the V8 ) hold for cooking 3-Shred your lettuce- or buy it already shredded- hold for cooking 4-Mince your garlic. hold for cooking 5-Pull the tabs off of the stock. hold for cooking 6-open your V8 .hold for cooking 7-Have your salt on a little bowl.hold for cooking
The reason I do all of this ahead of time is because when you start cooking everything you need is right there ready to go ( in chef terms it is called havening your" Mise en place " in order ( hopefully you've all read Kitchen Confidential from Anthony Bourdain ) "Mise" means everything in its place in French.)
Ready to cook?

In a good size soup pot ( a 10 qt ) render your bacon until brown. Add your diced onion ( optional ) and your garlic ( cook for about 1 min ) Add your tomato juice. Reduce by about 1/4 ( it will take about 6 min ). Add your chix stock. Let cook for 15 min ( bring to boil then reduce the heat to a slow simmer ). At this point add the diced tomatoes then add your Salt and Pepper and the Tabasco. Taste and adjust the seasonings the way you like them. Then let the soup cook for an additional 10 min. At this point you can hold the soup for at least an hour or two with no heat . Add your lettuce 10 min prior to serving the first time .