Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Now, I know this is one of the most basic seeming meals, but for all the different cooking and baking i have done, I usually open a can of tomato soup and take some sliced white bread along with a piece of sliced american "cheese".

Which is good, but by no means does it rival real tomato soup or the delicious grilled cheese sandwiches you can get at restaurants.

so, I found some recipes on Pinterest and Voila! delicious grown up grilled cheese and tomato soup, that was surprisingly easy.

Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

Fresh spinach-about 3C

Canned artichoke hearts-about 3 hearts

chopped for about 1/2 C

1T olive oil

garlic salt and pepper

2T sour cream

4 slices cheese-your choice

(Monterrey jack, provolone, cheddar)

4 slices of good bread

butter/margarine

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.

Saute the spinach until wilted. Season well

with garlic salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped

artichoke hearts and heat through. Add a dollop

of sour cream and blend well.

Remove this mixture to a small bowl.

Rinse and dry the skillet and return to the heat.

Buter one side of the bread. Add 2 slices of bread

to the hot skillet, buttered side down.

Top each with a slice of cheese, the spinach

artichoke mixture, the remaining slice of cheese

and the remaining slice of bread,

buttered side up. Grill until golden brown,

Flip and grill the other side until toasted

and the cheese is melted
.

Tomato Basil Soup

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 - 14 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes

2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of heavy cream

Flour/cornstarch

3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned

parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the crushed tomatoes. Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up. Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar. Add flour and additional cream if you want to thicken the soup.   Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.

 

Mike doesn't like anything tomato, so I made him some Chicken Gnocchi Soup.  When i was making dinner, he comes into the kitchen and asks "you made yourself a seperate soup?" 

 

:) My response, "No, I wanted tomato soup, and i know you dont' like that, so i made YOU a seperate soup"....