Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese: A 30 Something Upgrade
22 Dec
When planning our menu last week Kyle requested grilled cheese. I thought tomato soup sounded good and decided to try homemade since most canned/bottled versions are either sky high in sodium or have no flavor. Both were a hit, and Kyle even liked the soup which is impressive since the soup is basically blended vegetables! I was also excited to finally have a second recipe for which I could use my Cuisinart SmartStick Hand Blender (see Black Bean Soup recipe).
Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup (from the Complete Cooking Light Cookbook)
- 1.5 pounds red bell peppers
- 2 pounds tomatoes, halved and seeded (I used Roma)
- olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1.5 cups tomato juice (I used 24 oz tomato puree instead – no sodium)
- 12oz low sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I added to recipe to thin out, add volume)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram (I used dried, a little more than a teaspoon)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat broiler. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise: discard seeds and membranes. Place bell peppers and tomatoes, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten peppers with hand. Broil 15 mins or until vegetables are blackened. Place peppers in a bag; seal and let stand 10 minutes. Peel peppers and tomato. Process in a blender (unless you have an immersion blender – then wait).
Heat olive oil in sauce pan over medium low heat. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook 5 mins. Add vegetables and all other ingredients. Use an immersion blender to puree all ingredients. Cook to thoroughly heat all ingredients. Makes 5-6 servings.
Aren't these gorgeous?
Soup in the Pot
Grilled Cheese:
- Good sliced bread (I used Oroweat Health Nut)
- Muenster cheese
- Robert Rothschild Farms Peach Mango Habanero Sauce
- Butter/margarine (I use Brummel & Brown)
Spread a thin coating of the sauce on bread. Add 2-3 slices of muenster. Cover the outside of the sandwich with butter or margarine and grill! The George Forman came in handy. The sweet/spicy sauce goes so well with the cheese and really takes grilled cheese to a new level. Let me know if you have a secretly healthy soup recipe or a trick to grilled cheese…
Dinner!
Oh goodness, you’ve identified my favorite meal – just better! You’re so domestic!
I’m going to have to try this one…
It looks especially gorgeous on the green Fiestaware!
Oh! This looks AMAZING! I’ll be trying this recipe as well! Plus, I just got an immersion blender for Christmas–great opportunity to try it out!
Took me a year, but I finally made this fabulous soup! Absolutely scrumptious. I’ve never roasted vegetables under the broiler before — it worked great!