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

Cheese Making Kit!

When I got this in the mail recently I could hardly wait to open it up!! 

It's my cheese making kit that I bought from a Living Social deal! It includes all the things you need to make tons of different cheeses! I have always wanted to try my hand at making cheese and now the possibilities are endless. I'm way too excited about this! 

The cheese making kit was sent by Standing Stone Farms out in  Tennessee. They raise Nubian goats for their milk and are famous for their immense knowledge of all things cheese. 

There are so many cheese recipes that I'm having a hard time deciding where to start! 

Any suggestions? What's a good cheese to make for a first-timer like me?

Till next time,

Catherine