Friday, April 12, 2013

Cook: Tomato and Basil Soup


In honor of National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day today I knew I had to make grilled cheese. Ok, well I cheat, I make "toasted cheese." Doesn't sound as good but it's definitely healthier! No frying in butter! Tastes just as good to me and less mess to clean up!

I searched Pinterest and found two recipes I liked and adapted my version from them. One was from Your Homebased Mom and the other from Food Doodles.

It looks like a lot, but I promise it's easy and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already!


Ingredients:

  • 2 14.5oz cans of tomatoes, crushed or petit diced (I used a quart Mason jar of home-grown and home-canned tomatoes from my parents!)
  • 1/4 cup of butter or oil (I used coconut oil)
  • 1 cup of chicken broth (I used 1 chicken bouillon cube)
  • 1 can of tomato paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon of basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1-2 cups of water
  • 1 cup milk (2%, whole, half & half, whatever you prefer! I used 2%)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Pepper (to taste)


Directions:


Add all your ingredients together and mix thoroughly into a medium saucepan. The white blob is just coconut oil, don't freak out! 


Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 


Let it sit until it's cool enough to put into your blender. You can also use a food processor or an immersion blender.


Pour it into your blender, carefully!


Blend until smooth! Anyone know why it turns orange?


This is when I added the tomato paste because I didn't think it was thick enough and the flavor wasn't where I wanted it, but obviously it's better to add it all from the beginning! 


Return to the saucepan or serve this way. At this point I added milk and water until I got the consistency that I wanted. 


Get your grilled (er, toasted) cheese going! 


Mmm look at that melty cheese! 


Once it's the way you want it, serve it and enjoy! 


Garnish with a little fresh or dried basil for that perfect finishing touch! 


And don't forget to cut the grilled cheese at an angle like mom used to do ;) 




Or cut it into tiny bit-size pieces like me. 

Hope you go for this before buying Campbell's again! I promise, this is way better, and healthier!!

Do you prefer to make your own tomato soup or go for the can? What's your favorite way to make a grilled cheese? How did you celebrate National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day?

Till next time,
Catherine



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